The War of Time: REMAKE (6)
by A.I.T. - Author In Training
Summary: Sydney's back and she's brought a lot of drama with her. Someone is after The Book and there's a new prophecy that's shaking everything up. It seems like Draylon has turned into a hell house instead of the pretty home of the Gods it appears to be.
1. Everything is Not What it Seems

**1. Everything is Not What it Seems**

"Do you understand me?"

The hooded figure nodded.

"Excellent. You have twenty-four hours to acquire what I need. I don't care what you have to do to get it. Just get it, or else I will personally see to your execution. And I will be sure to make it as slow and painful as possible."

The hooded figure removed their hood, letting their long, blonde hair fall down, "Don't underestimate me." They smirked and stared at them head on. "I'll have it in an hour."

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><p>"Anna, I've had this book for five years now! How can you not understand that <em>it is mine<em>?"

"Because, Joe, I have just as much right to use it as you do!"

"No, you don't! Uncle Joe gave it to me! Not you!"

"So? I bet if he was here he would tell you to share it! You're just jealous because I'm better at using it than you are!"

"You are not!" But Joe knew she was right. Joe had made very little improvement with The Book while Anna seemed to get everything immediately. She was a natural at it, even though she was only thirteen. "Look, just stay out of my stuff! Just stay out of my way period!" Joe stomped back to his room.

Anna had tried to steal The Book ten times this month alone. They'd been on winter break for a while now, and they were stuck in the house with nothing to do. Friends had gone away for Christmas vacations, but would be returning soon seeing as how Christmas was last week and they had to go back to school in just a few days. The only thing the two of them had to do was fight, a lot.

"Stupid, Anna. Why does she always have to steal my stuff and get in my way. Doesn't she have a life of her own?" Joe mumbled to himself and turned on his TV, glad to see that the Christmas commercials and TV specials had finally stopped airing.

A few minutes into some sit-com about three lonely bachelors in LA, Joe's cell rang. Checking the caller ID, he saw it was Fred.

"Hey. How was Hawaii?"

"Boring. All I did was burn and sleep."

Joe chuckled, "Sounds like fun to me."

"Shut up. Listen, my parents are having some lame friends of theirs over and I'm bored out of my mind. Wanna come over and hang?"

Joe looked outside his window and thought about how he would have to brace the cold New York winter weather to get to his friend's house. He sighed, "Alright, I'll be over in fifteen minutes." He hung up and slipped on a dark green jacket.

He jogged down the stairs to the front door. He tightened his jacket around himself preparing for the icy winds. He opened the door.

He froze.

In front of him was a girl with long, blonde hair and sky blue eyes with a strange green ring around her iris, her hand in a closed fist, as if getting ready to knock on a door.

"Um, hi." Sydney opened her fist and gave Joe a slight wave.

"Whoa. It's been forever." Joe stared at Sydney.

"Yes it has, and I didn't exactly come all this way to stand in the freezing cold."

Joe jumped. "Oh, sorry. Come in." He stepped aside and Sydney quickly hurried inside.

"Thanks." She smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?"

Sydney's smiled faltered. "What? I can't just visit because I missed my friend who I haven't seen in five years?"

Joe blushed. "Sorry. So, how are you?"

"Oh, you know, I'm surviving, barely. You?"

"I've been okay."

"Good."

"Yeah."

They fell into an awkward silence.

"So..."

"So..."

Sydney rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "There, um, actually is a reason I came." She looked away.

"So I'm not a good enough friend that I deserve a visit from you?" Joe smirked.

Sydney gave him a sad, pitying, half-smile. "I need The Book."

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><p><strong>AN: So I decided to start posting this even though I'm only about 75% done with it. Hopefully, I'll finish it all soon. I really wanted to rewrite this because I just didn't like the original anymore. I like this one way better. There are some similarities between the two, but a lot of differences as well. So, review!<strong>


	2. Long Time, No See

**2. Long Time, No See**

Joe POV

"Who are you?"

I spun on my heel to find Anna standing in the kitchen doorway behind me eating a banana.

"Anna-" I started.

"Are you Joe's girlfriend?" She walked up to Sydney and looked her up and down. "'Cause you could do a lot better than my brother, trust me."

"Uh..." Sydney seemed shocked and confused.

Oh for love of- "Anna!" She looked at me with an innocent expression on her face.

"What?"

"Get out of here. This doesn't concern you."

"So she is your girlfriend?" She turned back to Sydney. "Are you here to dump him? Good call."

"Anna! Just go back to your room and leave us alone. And she is not my girlfriend!"

"Not anymore she's not."

"Anna! Go, now!"

"Fine." Anna grumbled to herself and went upstairs to her bedroom. Thank God.

"Um..." I turned back to Sydney, who was looking at the stairs, "Who-" She turned to me.

"My sister. Just ignore her."

Sydney looked around the entryway and walked past me into the living room, still looking around.

"So, um, why do you need The Book?"

Sydney quickly turned and stared at me. "I can have it?"

"Well, I can't exactly give it to you."

"Why not?" She looked offended.

"Well, it's not like I don't trust you or anything, I just kinda need to know why. It's sort of an important object."

She sighed, "_I_ don't need it. Draylon does."

"Why?"

"Reasons I'm not allowed to tell you. It's just very important that you give it to me. Now." Her cool composure faltered for a moment and she glared.

"Okay, calm down, but I still don't think I can just give it to you like that."

"I _need_ it." She sounded threatening. I winced.

"Are you feeling okay? You seem... different than I remember." I guess anyone will act different after five years though.

"I'm fine. Just give me The Book."

"No."

"Joe-"

"Sydney."

We glared at each other. This was definitely not a happy reunion. I sighed and gave in, not wanting to fight with her.

"How about I get The Book and go along to Draylon with you? That way you guys can still have it, but I'll be there with it too. Plus, it'll give us some time to catch up and hang out."

"You can't-"

"What's Draylon?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Anna waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Clearly, she had been eavesdropping this entire time.

"Nothing. Now leave!"

"No. This place sounds interesting. I want to go too."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"Well, I don't think it's up to you."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it isn't."

I opened my mouth to reply, but Sydney interrupted me. "Fine, fine! You can both come! Just shut up already! Jeez!"

We watched her with wide eyes, stunned at her outburst.

"What?" She looked back and forth between us.

"Nothing," we both spoke.

"Good. Now get The Book, and we can go."

"Right." I ran up to my room to grab The Book. Sydney seemed very different than before. Something seemed off about her, like she wasn't herself. Maybe she was just stressed over the importance of the situation, whatever it was. I shrugged it off, and went back downstairs. "Ready," I said when I got back.

"Finally." Sydney reach for The Book, but I held it back. Not wanting to give it to her.

"What are you doing?" She studied me.

"Nothing. I just thought that I would hold it."

Sydney stared at The Book hungrily, like her life depended on getting it. "Fine. Let's just go already. We've already wasted too much time here." She stared at me in anticipation.

"Um..."

Her eyes flicked from me to The Book in my hands. "Well?" she asked.

"What?"

"Are you going to take us there or not?"

"Oh. Well... I'm not exactly... um... _great _with The Book," I trailed off. "Why can't you take us there? You know, with those special abilities you seem to have?"

"Because, I want to test your skills with it." I thought her confidence wavered slightly, but I pushed that thought away.

"Well, I-"

Anna rolled her eyes and snatched The Book out of my hands. Before I could argue, she had it opened and a familiar green mist surrounded us. In the blink of an eye, we were gone. No idea what waited ahead of us.

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><p><strong>Liking it so far? Review please!<strong>


	3. No Time To Waste

**3. No Time to Waste**

The shadow of a castle loomed over them. Looking up, you couldn't even see the sky. Behind you, you would see a rocky cliff that appeared to be bottomless. The castle towered over them, dwarfing them. It was built of old stone and looked like the castles you saw in Europe from the Middle Ages. You could almost see the power radiating off of it. Two seemingly impassive doors stood before them, daring them to enter. Beyond the main part of the building that stood before them, several lesser structures branched off it. Towers built onto the castle stood along the skyline. The tallest ones went beyond the clouds above them. If you looked behind the castle, you would see a large lake that was a perfect blue-green. Reflected on the lake's surface, was the forest's reflection. The forest surrounded the castle on all sides. It traced along the side of the cliff that the castle was built into as well. All together, it was truly awe-inspiring.

"Okay, here we are. Now give it to me." Sydney held out her hands.

Joe pulled The Book out her reach, "Not so fast. Can't we hang out a little first before you have to get into 'serious-goddess-mode'?"

Sydney sighed. "Alright, sure. But I have to go check in with Nicole first. To, uh, give her an update on what's happening."

"Okay, well what are we supposed to while you're gone?"

"Um, I don't know. Why don't you two just go look around. Get familiar with the place. There's some empty dorms you can stay in for the time being. Go find them and get settled in. I'll find you later." And with that, she left.

"Wow. This place is amazing!" Anna spun in a circle, taking the whole place in. "It's so big!"

Joe looked up at the castle-like structure. He grinned with memories. "Yeah."

Anna looked at him, "So?"

"So, what?"

"Are we gonna go look around or what? You've been here before haven't you?"

"Well, yeah, but, um..." Joe paused, not wanting to admit that he didn't remember where much was, "I think the dorms are over there," he pointed to a rectangular building that branched off from the right, "I think that's the school, so the dorms should be near it. Come on, let's go check it out."

* * *

><p>Two figures stood in the dark.<p>

"I thought you said you would be able to accomplish this simple task."

"I can and I will. Some girl got in my way. I'll take care of it. Just give me a little more time. The boy isn't that bright. He'll leave it unattended eventually, and then, I'll snatch it."

"You better. Do _not_ fail me."

"I won't."

The figure gave the other one a rueful smile. "I know you won't. I have a plan. Now, shut up and listen."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know it's a little short, but the story will pick up soon. I promise! Review!<strong>


	4. Ominous

**4. Ominous...**

Joe POV

Anna and my footsteps echoed down the hallway. We'd been exploring for almost an hour now and Anna was getting on my last nerve. Thankfully, she'd been quiet for the last few minutes. Unfortunately, that peaceful moment was about to end.

"She's really pretty, but I'm sure I don't have to tell you that." She smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes, knowing who she was talking about. "Anna, if I didn't want to talk about this before, why would I want to talk about it now?"

Anna shrugged. "Whatever, but I know she's on your mind."

I bit my cheek to keep from talking back. Of course, now that Anna had said it, Sydney was on my mind. She wasn't before. _I swear_. I kept walking alongside Anna and let my mind wander. Sydney was so different than before, and I couldn't figure out why. Sure, she looked different, but I hadn't seen her since she was twelve, and she was, what? Seventeen now? She _would_ look different, older, _prettier._ I winced. Get those thoughts out of your head, Joe. But still, Sydney had... well, she'd grown up. It was a miracle she even remembered me after all these years.

"So, Joe," Anna spoke again, snapping me out of my thoughts, "do you even know where we are?"

I stopped and looked around. The hallway we were now standing in was dark, and it got darker as it went on. I shivered. Something definitely didn't seem right. I glanced at the black abyss in front of us. Silence. Yet, I felt like there was something down there, something we should avoid. I turned. "Come on, Anna. We should leave this place."

"For once, I think you're right."

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><p><span>Anna POV<span>

I had taken the lead after Joe got us lost for the third time. And what do you know? I managed to find the school and the dorms within five minutes. I grinned, proud of myself, but more importantly, I grinned because I had found something else I was better than Joe at. We stood in a small round area where two hallways met. Dorms went down both. I started to walk down the left, eager to pick out a room for myself.

"Where are you going?" Joe asked.

I stopped and looked at him over my shoulder. "To find a room."

He smirked at me. "I may not remember much, but I do remember that the left hallway," he nodded towards the hallway I was entering, "is where the boy's dorms are."

"Oh." I frowned and started going down the right hallway. "Better?" I stared back at him.

He smiled to himself and went down the left hallway.

I was glad to see him leave, but that smart part of me knew we should know where each others rooms were. "Wait!" I yelled and followed him.

"What?" He spoke without looking at me. Instead, he looked at the doors that lined the hallways.

"I just thought I should know what room you were going to be in, and that you should know what room I was going to be in."

He glanced at me then. "Fine. Whatever."

We got to the end of the seemingly endless hallway. Joe tried a few doors, all locked. He frowned. "Odd. Sydney would've told us if the doors needed keys."

"That's weird. Wouldn't she know that? Since she lives here and all."

Joe stared at me, as if just realizing I'd never been here before. He laughed. "Sydney doesn't live _here_, she lives in the castle. That's where the Gods and Goddesses live."

I stepped back. "What?" Was he implying what I think he was?

He grinned. "Yeah. Sydney's a Time Goddess. Goddess of the Time Arts. Pretty big deal actually. She's considered to be one of the most powerful Gods ever. You should see her in action." He smiled as if he was remembering something.

"It's _the_ most powerful God in existence, actually."

We turned and saw Sydney standing behind us. I was too shocked to speak. I didn't know what I should do. Bow? Curtsy? Drop to my hands and knees and beg her to not harm me?

Her eyes flicked towards me. "I really don't like all the formalities of it. So, please, don't treat me weird or worship me," she spoke as if guessing my thoughts.

I dumbly nodded and snapped my mouth shut. I hadn't even notice it opened.

Joe gestured to the door. "Did you know these were locked?"

Sydney looked at door. "Oh. Um, no." She grinned sheepishly at us. "Sorry. There's been a change of plans anyway. You two will be sharing a room."

"What?" We both yelled.

Sydney glanced back and forth between us. "Sorry, but that's how this is going to go. I'm sure you won't complain once you see where you will be staying."

"Where's that?" I asked, finally getting some dignity back.

She smirked. "You'll see."

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><p><strong>AN: A little slow, I know. Give it a chance! Review!<strong>


	5. A Scary Warning

**5. A Scary Warning**

Sydney led Joe and Anna down a hallway, away from the school. Anna looked around. "This place is pretty awesome. I'd kill to live here."

Sydney chuckled. "People have tried."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"So, why aren't all your hallways lit up like this?" Anna spoke as she noticed the torches lining the brick walls.

"What do you mean?" Sydney glanced down at her.

"Well, when Joe and I were looking around earlier, Joe ended up getting us lost-"

"Hey!" Joe interrupted.

"-and we found ourselves in this pitch black hallway. There wasn't anything around it either. Just darkness."

Sydney froze and spun on her heel, glaring at the two of them. "Do not _ever_ go down that hallway again! It is forbidden, and if you do it again, your punishment will be death!"

Joe and Anna didn't move a muscle, too freaked by her bi-polar nature.

"Good." She turned back around and continued walking.

Anna and Joe exchanged eye contact, and slowly began to follow her again.

They reached the end of the hallway, and walked under a stone arch, which led them into a tall tower-like area. A spiral staircase lined the wall, and followed it up to the top. Several doors went along the staircase.

A large set of doors sat underneath the stairs. The doors were solid silver with intricate designs, swirls, and pictures engraved into them.

Joe let out a low whistle. "Dang."

Sydney smirked and walked up to the doors. They opened with ease. Inside, the room was magnificent. It was huge, comfortable, and luxurious. Almost everything inside was silver. Silver walls, silver floors, even silver colored furniture. It seemed too big to fit into an area beneath some stairs. The main room was round and had five doors branching off from it. Looking inside, you could see two bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and walk-in closet, an extra bathroom for the main room, a large kitchen filled with deluxe stoves and other kitchen accessories, and a room with an Olympic size pool in it. The back of the latter had a window instead of a wall. Looking out of it, you could see the deep blue lake and the green forests surrounding it.

Anna and Joe's heads couldn't stop looking around. The room, more like a house, was dazzling.

"This is where we let visiting ambassadors and dignitaries stay. This will be you're home for the next few days," Sydney spoke, snapping them out of their trance. "You'll need these to get in." She handed each of them a silk sack, keeping an extra one in her pocket. The bags were filled with tiny silver balls. "Normally, that arch we walked under will have a wall there, preventing people from getting in. For security reasons. Only gods have the special touch to open it and get in. Just swallow these whenever you want to get into this room, and poof, you'll be here. My room is the third from the top. So, if you need anything," she paused to look at Joe, her voice becoming slightly flirtatious, "and I do mean _anything_, just come and get me. I'll drop whatever it is I'm doing. I'll be glad to... _help_."

Joe looked away, blushing and uncomfortable at her sudden interest in him.

Anna, staring in the other direction, didn't notice. "This place is so cool! I can't believe we'll get to stay here. I don't think I'll ever want to leave."

Sydney twitched, as if that last part bothered her. She quickly regained her composure and smiled. "Stay as long as you like." She turned her attention back to Joe and offered him a sweet smile. "So, mind handing over _The Book_ yet?"

"Um..." Joe clutched _The Book_ closer to him. Not wanting to give it up just yet. "No."

"Why not?" Sydney's smile disappeared and her eyes turned to slits.

"Because, I- I-" Joe fumbled, not able to come up with an excuse. In truth, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was... off with Sydney. He felt that he shouldn't give her _The Book_, not yet at least.

Sydney put her hands on her hips, looking fierce. "You don't understand the situation, Joe. I need it now."

"Or what?" Anna joined in. Sydney blinked, suddenly remembering Anna was there.

"_Or else_." Sydney's words dripped with venom. "Someone will be paying the price, and I can guarantee you, it won't be me." She sneered at the two of them. "So, what's it gonna be?"

"Well-"

"Sydney!"

They all jumped at the sudden interruption. Glancing behind them, they saw Nicole, tapping her foot impatiently and staring at Sydney.

"Do not pester our guests. You should know better."

"But-"

"Enough! Come with me. I believe you're behind on your training. We must continue it immediately."

Sydney sighed and closed her eyes. Two seconds later, she was smiling again. "Well, we'll pick this up later. Like I said before, if you need me, for anything, come find me." She winked at Joe and followed her mother out.

"What is wrong with her?" Anna asked irritably. "I thought she was your friend."

"She is. I don't know what's going on with her. Her life isn't exactly easy. Maybe-" Joe paused. Muffled shouting could be heard outside the door. "Um-"

"Let's go check it out." Anna headed for the door, ready to eavesdrop on Sydney and Nicole.

"Anna! No!" Joe pulled her back. "That's wrong."

"So?"

Joe glared. "So, we're not going to do it."

"Fine. Whatever." She sat down on their couch in their new, temporary home. "What are we supposed to do then?"

"I don't know." The argument outside the door had stopped. Everything was silent now. "Just wait here and see what happens?"

Anna raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? That's the best you got?"

Joe shrugged. "You have any better ideas?"

Anna sighed. "No."

"Good. So, let's just wait this out. I'm sure something surprising will happen soon enough. Things always do for us."

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><p><strong>AN: Next chapter picks it up a little bit. Review!<strong>


	6. The Puzzle Goes Unsolved

**6. The Puzzle Goes Unsolved**

Joe laid back on the bed. He and Anna had been here for two days, and except for a few times hanging out with Sydney that always started with her acting weird towards Joe (he seriously couldn't figure out what was up with her) and ended with her demanding he hand over _The Book_, they hadn't seen her much. Nothing interesting had happened to them lately at all. Joe sighed. He let his mind wander and thought about Sydney. Why was she acting so weird all of a sudden? One minute they're friends, the next, she's all over him like- well, he didn't know. Anna had teased him that she was flirting with him, but Joe knew that couldn't be right. Sydney was Sydney, and he was... well, he was Joe. Sydney could do a lot better, though he hated to admit it. Still, what was wrong with her? Joe sat up. Well, Sydney had said he could go to her for_ anything_, right?

* * *

><p>Joe ran into someone. "Sorry." He saw it was Sydney.<p>

She studied him for a moment, realization coming across her face, "Joe?" Sydney looked surprised to see him there.

"Hey, Sydney! I was just looking for you. Remember earlier when you said-"

"Earlier? What are you talking about? I just-"

"There you are!" Nicole came quickly down the hall. "We need to talk."

Sydney looked at her mother. Nicole seemed to be studying her eyes very intently, "Oh, right. In a minute." Sydney stared at Joe, "Why are you-"

"Not in a minute, now." Nicole tapped her foot impatiently, apparently it was a habit of hers.

Sydney sighed, "Alright, fine." She gave Joe one final confusing glance before following her mother down the hall.

Joe watched her go, "But you said-" he shook his head, "Never mind." He went back the way he came.

* * *

><p>"I trust your mission was successful?" Nicole led her daughter down the narrow hallway.<p>

"Well, actually I-"

"No? I wasn't expecting you back for another week or so. What went wrong?" Nicole snapped as she glanced over her shoulder and gave Sydney a look that suggested Nicole blamed Sydney for being too incompetent to do the job right.

"Well, I guess the information you gave me was wrong, because when I showed up at the _terminus_, no one was there. The city looked like it had been abandoned for centuries, just like we thought. I checked everywhere, and I didn't see any sign of-"

"That's a shame. I'll have to find whoever gave me that information and punish them for wasting our time. We are Gods after all, we have better things to be doing," Nicole spoke with an angry tone.

"Right, by the way, do you know why Joe's here? Not that I'm not glad to see him, it's just that it's been years since-"

"_No_. He showed up about a week ago with his younger sister. I thought you invited him here."

"Oh! Um, but I've been gone for a month, I didn't tell him to-"

"You didn't? Huh, strange..." Nicole pursed her lips as she thought to herself.

Sydney studied Nicole. She seemed to be acting strange, and she was cutting her off, a lot more than she usually did. "Did something happen while I was gone?"

"No, nothing interesting or important anyways."

Sydney continued to examine her mother as they walked through the corridor. They reached a solid, stone, wall. Nicole placed her hand gently upon it. Her hand glowed green momentarily before the glow spread into the cracks between the stones. The wall opened into a large circular shaped room with a spiral staircase lining the walls. Several doors were along the staircase.

"Well," Nicole turned to face Sydney, "You must be tired. I'm going to go to bed myself. There's a meeting tomorrow. We have some important issues to discuss, and your father will want to hear your mission report I'm sure. So, goodnight. I will see you tomorrow." Nicole walked up the stairs. She got to the door at the very top, and stepped in quietly.

Sydney looked back at the now closed wall where they had just come from. What was going on? She sighed and went up the stairs to enter her bedroom.

* * *

><p>"You're time has run out," a figure spoke.<p>

"And yet, you let me live. I'm curious as to why."

The first figure smirked. "Perhaps I still have some use for you."

"What about our deal?"

"You'll get your freedom soon enough. I have one final task for you. And this time, failure is not an option." A slow smile spread over their lips. "Now, what do you prefer to kill with?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: See? Told you it would pick up a little. :) Review!<strong>


	7. Making Friends

**7. Making Friends**

Anna flicked a piece of paper at Joe. It hit him in the eye.

"Ow!" He threw the small ball of paper away. "What was that for?"

Anna shrugged. "I'm bored. When's your girlfriend gonna come and hang out with us?"

"She's not my girlfriend, and I don't know. Her life doesn't revolve around keeping us entertained."

"But aren't you bored too?"

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing! Let's do something. Wanna go explore some more?" Anna looked at him hopefully.

Joe sighed. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Their footsteps echoed as they walked around the castle.<p>

"This place is so huge. I think we could explore for a year and still not see everything," Anna said.

"You're probably right. But we haven't really found anything that interesting."

"True. But I bet we will."

They turned a corner. Anna stepped on someone's toes.

"Ow!"

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I-" She looked into the eyes of the person she'd stepped on. "Oh. Hello."

Before her stood a young boy. Most likely not much older than her. Her had shaggy brown hair and light brown eyes. His skin was light brown. The only thing that gave away his age was his face. He seemed to be very tall. He stood a foot over Anna.

The boy looked down at her and grinned. "Don't worry about it." He studied the pair of them. "Are you guys new students?"

Joe shook his head and spoke before Anna could. Something about the way they kept glancing at each other made him feel odd. "No. We're here visiting a friend. We were just looking around Draylon. Come on Anna, we should probably go find Sydney."

"Syd's back?" The young boy spoke excitedly. "When did she get back?" He looked back and forth between the two of them, eager for an answer.

"Um... a few days ago, maybe?" Joe said cautiously.

The boy frowned. "A few days? Really? Why wouldn't she tell me, I mean us?" He smiled nervously, scaring Anna and Joe. Who was 'us'? "Do you know where she is?"

They shook their heads.

The boy sank, crestfallen. "Oh. Well, I'll just go look for her then, I guess. Nice meeting you. My name's Skyler by the way." With one last fleeting look at Anna, he left.

"Well, he was nice." Anna smiled at Joe. "Don't you think?"

Joe shrugged. "He was odd. How do you think he knows Sydney?"

"I don't know."

"You don't think they're dating, do you?"

Anna smirked at Joe. "Why? Jealous?" Though she herself appeared to be a little troubled at the thought.

Joe jumped. "No!" He blushed. "I was just curious, is all."

"_Sure_."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Review!<strong>


	8. Let's Mix This Up A Little

**8. Let's Mix This Up A Little**

"Come on, Sky! Pick it up!"

Joe heard her before he saw her. He rounded the corner and saw Sydney standing near the ledge of an indoor balcony. The room it was in was huge! The size of at least ten football fields.

Sydney was staring intently over the edge. He couldn't tell what she was looking at. He was too far away.

Sydney must have heard him, because she turned, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Hello."

Joe smiled back and stepped forward. "Hey. Um..." He gestured at the room they were standing in. He could hear sounds of fighting and crashing now.

Sydney's smile widened. "Come here." She beckoned him forward.

Joe came and looked out over the edge. He gasped at the sight before him. The room was bigger than he thought. The entire room was filled with a thick fog. Wisps of the fog danced along the bottom of the balcony. Joe couldn't see much, but he heard a lot. A small explosion went off a few feet to the left and someone yelped.

Sydney sighed in an annoyed, yet understanding kind of way. "I told you there would be more surprises today!" She yelled at whoever was in the pit-like area. She turned back to Joe. "This is one of our training areas. A basic, easy one. We train beginning soldiers, guards, as well as many other people here."

Another explosion sounded throughout the room. Sydney pursed her lips in annoyance and looked back at the arena. "Alright, enough already! You're done for the day!" She walked over to the wall. A small panel with several flashing buttons on it was set into the wall. She pressed down on a small red button.

The arena instantly cleared itself of fog. The ground was perfectly flat, not a sign of any explosions or fighting. Joe noticed that the balcony was actually at least thirty feet above the floor.

A familiar looking boy stood in the center of the field, looking slightly dazed and confused.

"Seems to me like you're a little out of practice," Sydney shouted down to the boy.

He grinned in response. "Well, you've been gone for a month. What did you expect?"

Sydney smiled. The boy walked over to a rope that was hanging from the balcony and climbed it with ease. Sydney helped him over the ledge.

The boy tilted his head at Joe. "Hey! I know you! You're that guy I ran into the other day." He paused and looked around. "Where's that cute girl you were with?"

"_My sister_," Joe said in a warning voice, "is back in our room."

"Oh." The boy, Skyler, Joe thought, smiled at Sydney like he was remembering something. "So, why did you lie to me earlier?"

"Huh?"

"You told me Syd was back. She didn't get back in until last night. Trying to pit us against each other?" Skyler grinned in a goofy way and put his arm around Sydney's shoulder. She laughed and playfully punched him. He let his arm down.

Joe froze, feeling awkward watching their closeness. "I didn't lie," he said, finally out of his thoughts. "She-"

"Joe!" Anna ran around the corner, out of breath. "You're not going to-" She stopped when she realized they weren't alone. "Oh! Hey Sydney, and um, Skyler, right?"

Skyler stepped forward and nodded enthusiastically. "But you can call me Sky. Everyone does."

Sydney eyed Skyler suspiciously. Skyler glanced back at her. They exchanged a silent conversation, ending with Sydney having a knowing smile on her face. Skyler seemed embarrassed.

"So..." Joe attempted to break the pregnant silence. "What did you want Anna?"

"Hmm?" Anna looked at Joe, as if she forgot he was there. "Oh yeah! I woke up from my nap and decided to explore." She turned to Sydney. "Don't worry. I avoided the hallway you told us about."

"What-"

"And I found this cool looking room! I don't know what it is though. Maybe you could tell me?" She gave Sydney a hopeful look. "Please?"

"Well, that depends. Where exactly is this room?"

"I'll show you!" Anna sped out of the room. Skyler was the first to follow her out. Slowly, Sydney and Joe followed.

* * *

><p>Sydney chuckled to herself. "The prophecy room."<p>

"That's what this is?" Anna asked.

Sydney nodded. "One of several. There are tons of these spread out around the castle. We tend to get a lot of prophecies here." Her eyes scanned the walls. The room itself seemed to have no ceiling, the walls went so high. "Look at the walls. See how there are words etched in stone? They seem old and faded, right?"

Anna and Joe checked the words on the walls and saw she was correct.

"Those are completed prophecies. The blank spots on the wall are where future prophecies will appear. Glowing green ones are currently active prophecies. We check these rooms two time a day to see if there are any new prophecies."

"Like that one?" Anna pointed to the wall at the end of the narrow room. The glowing symbols were set in the center of the wall.

Sydney snapped her head in the direction she was pointing. She quickly ran to it and read it over:

"_Twins made by Darkness, Enemies made by Deceit,_

_Tables turning, Players changing,_

_Two becomes One, becomes Two,_

_This game is the Coup De Main,_

_The real show is Behind the Curtains, Behind the Backs,_

_Bring your Secrets, You're going to need them,_

_Savior is the Girl, Demon is the Split,_

_Welcome to the Beginning of the End."_

Sydney cursed to herself. "Skyler!" Sydney stared him down. "Take these two back to their room. I have to find Nicole." She hurriedly left.

"Is it bad?" Joe turned to Skyler. This prophecy language was foreign to him.

Skyler shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Gods are required to treat every prophecy like it's an emergency, in case it is. Come on. I'll take you back to your room."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sigh... I've got to get better at prophecy writing... Anyway, review!<strong>


	9. What Side Are You On?

**9. What Side Are You On?**

"Are you a soldier?" Joe asked. Skyler seemed awfully young to be such a thing, possibly around Joe's own age, fourteen, maybe, but Joe had to ask.

Skyler laughed. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Sydney was telling me that the room we were in was used to train soldiers. If you're not a soldier, what are you?"

"I'm not anything, yet. See, I really, _really_ want to be a Time Agent. They're these people who go from world to world and time era to time era, sort of like ambassadors, but also like secret agents. They have to fight, a lot. Sometimes even in wars. Their main priority is to keep peace though, but some of the more independent ones like to go around on missions, trying to solve mysteries or research legends, and stuff like that. I want to be the best Time Agent ever. Syd's awesome enough, that she agreed to train me and help me get better. That way, when I finally get to a Time Agent school, I'll already have everything down."

"Aren't you a little young?"

Skyler shook his head. "I'm fourteen. Syd was doing stuff way harder and much worse by that age."

"Like what?"

Skyler flinched, realizing he said something he wasn't supposed to. "Um, I'm not really supposed to talk about it. Syd doesn't like people knowing about all the stuff she's done. She would kill me if I told you guys. It's just really personal, you know?"

"Uh-"

"Here we are. You guys have those magic ball-thingies, right?"

They nodded, each pulling one out of their pockets.

"Good. I'm sure Syd will come find you after she finishes discussing the prophecy with her, um, Nicole." He gave them a cute, lopsided smile. "I'll see you guys later," He spoke to them both, but stared at Anna when he said it. He spun on his heel, and jogged down the hallway, away from them.

Joe and Anna swallowed the tiny spheres and instantly found themselves in front of the doors to their room. They walked inside.

"What do you think he was talking about?" Joe asked.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific," Anna replied.

"That Skyler kid. When he said that Sydney had done... _worse_ things."

"Do you really want to know? Sounds pretty scary to me."

Joe paused. "I guess, but, doesn't it worry you at all?"

Anna shrugged. "Not really. Why should it? I doubt Sydney is going to go psycho and kill us all."

"I guess you're right. But still..."

* * *

><p>"<em>Twins made by Darkness, Enemies made by Deceit,<em>

_Tables turning, Players changing,_

_Two becomes One, becomes Two,_

_This game is the Coup De Main,_

_The real show is Behind the Curtains, Behind the Backs,_

_Bring your Secrets, You're going to need them,_

_Savior is the Girl, Demon is the Split,_

_Welcome to the Beginning of the End."_

Nicole appeared troubled. "That's certainly interesting."

"Think it's something we should worry about?" Sydney questioned.

"Maybe. We know the first line has already happened, otherwise the prophecy wouldn't be on the wall. Let's just keep an eye out to see if the next lines will come true."

"You mean _when_ the next lines come true."

Nicole blinked. "Of course, of course." She spoke as if lost in thought, but she cleared her head and stood. "Let's discuss this at another time. You've been gone for a month, which means you're behind on you're training. Tomorrow. Noon. The black room. Got it?"

Sydney winced. "Yes."

"Excellent. You may leave now." Nicole dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

Sydney turned to leave, but paused. "Do you have any idea what the first line means? Or any of the lines?"

"None at all. Why would you ask that?"

Sydney looked at her over her shoulder. "No reason. Maybe I just need to review my interrogation training. I must have misread you're actions."

"We can do that at a later time."

Sydney studied her mother. Satisfied that her suspicions were false for now, she left.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Next chapter things get good. Review!<strong>


	10. Screams

**10. Screams**

A piercing scream rang through the air. Joe couldn't cover his ears fast enough. His head swerved, looking for the source.

_Silence._

He let his hands drop. "What was that?" He mumbled to himself, still searching the hallway.

He had been searching for some lunch. He was starving- as most teenage boys are- and their so called "luxurious" kitchen wasn't stocked very well.

The screams picked up again. Joe flinched and placed his hands over his ears again. It sounded like someone was being tortured, brutally.

The noise died down again, Joe stared at the walls. Where was it coming from? The walls were solid stone. A few banners hung here and there, marked with strange symbols Joe didn't recognize. There were no doors or rooms for someone to be behind or in. Were the shouts simply coming from the air?

Once again, the screams returned.

Joe bolted down the hall, desperate to get away from the awful noise. Halfway down, he heard a door slam. The silence had returned.

Joe froze, too scared to look at was behind him. Very cautiously, he turned, his eyes closed. Slowly, they opened.

He didn't know how to react. Behind him, a figure sat, knees pulled up to their chest, back against the wall. They were shaking, their shoulders moving up and down quickly as they tried to catch their breath.

Joe felt pity for the person. Were they the one that was being tortured? He began to pace over towards them. As he got closer, he saw the figure was a girl. Her head was bent, the hood from the sweatshirt she was wearing fell over her face, so he couldn't identify her.

"Um... Are you okay?" Joe mentally slapped himself. That's a stupid question to ask someone who just got tortured.

The girl didn't respond. She continued shaking. Joe thought he heard her mumbling to herself. Something about blood and a dream?

He examined the wall behind her. There was no door there. Where had she come from?

Joe calmly bent down beside her. Gently, he put his hand on her shoulder.

The girl shrieked and jumped away, eyes wide and panting.

"Sydney?"

She looked at him as if he was holding a gun to her head. Her breathing slowed, and she seemed to recognize him at last. "Joe? What are you doing here?"

"I was- Are you okay?"

Sydney shook her head. "You need to leave. Now. You're not supposed to be here."

"But-"

"Please! Just go!"

"Sydney-"

Sydney went stiff. Her nails dug into the heels of her palms. Blood began to trickle down her wrists. She bit her lip, hard, causing her to bleed from there as well. Her eyes turned solid green.

Joe scooted back. "What the-"

"Shit."

Joe jumped. Skyler stood behind him, an angry yet concerned expression on his face. He ran to Sydney and pulled her into his arms. He murmured something into her ear. Sydney seemed to be oblivious to his presence. Skyler shouted over his shoulder, "Nicole! I know you're there! I know you can here me!"

A hole appeared out of the floor. Nicole stepped out of it nonchalantly, as if everything about this situation was normal.

"Yes? What is it? I'm very busy."

"How much did you give her?"

Nicole looked at Sydney as if she just now noticed she was there. "Just the usual. Why?"

"_Why_? Look at her! This is the hundredth time this has happened!"

Nicole shrugged, unamused. "Sometimes the drug takes awhile to wear off."

"Seems to me like it's still in full effect."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Help her! You know what she sees! You're torturing her!"

As if on cue, Sydney's screaming picked up again.

"There's nothing I can do. The drug wears off on its own accord. And it's not my fault she can't pass this test. She needs to learn how to control this things. It must be done."

"You've been doing these tests for three years! She isn't going to be able to get over the things she's done! The things you _made_ her do!"

"She must not give up."

Sydney's screaming increased. Joe had no idea how these two could carry on a conversation, no matter how argument-y it was.

"Nicole!"

"I'm sorry. Take her back to her room. She'll draw a crowd here."

Joe blanched. Her daughter was having some sort of freakout and her mother was worried about people seeing?

"When she returns to normal, please, let her know we will be trying again tomorrow." Before anyone could argue, Nicole left.

Skyler's eyes followed her as she left. Skyler clenched and unclenched his fists. He stared at Sydney. His anger seemed to disappear. He stared at Sydney and his anger dissolved. He tentatively stood up, never not keeping an eye on her. Sydney's screams had turned into mumbles of gibberish. Skyler bent over, and as gently as possible, lifted her off the ground. He only struggled for a moment before his training kicked in and he held her with ease.

"Are you going to help? Or are you just going to stand there and gawk?"

Joe started. He hadn't even known Skyler knew he was here. "Uh..."

Skyler rolled his eyes. "Come on." He pushed past Joe and moved down the hall.

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Joe couldn't keep it to himself any longer. He wanted- needed to know.<p>

Skyler glanced down at Sydney, almost like he expected her to answer. "If Syd wants you to know, she'll tell you. I'm not going to say anything about it."

"Okay... Can you at least tell me why you were there?"

Skyler eyed him out of the corner of his eye. "Syd told me Nicole wanted to do more black box training today.

"Black ops training?"

"Black _box_ training. It's... pretty brutal." He looked at Sydney's clenched and mumbling body in his arms. "This happens almost every time, so I went down there to check on her. Good thing I did too. Why were you there?"

"I was exploring... for food."

"Ah." Skyler's mouth turned up a little.

They reached the solid wall that led into the god's rooms. Skyler pulled out a small silver ball from his pocket.

"Where did you get that?" Joe asked.

Skyler stared at him like he was stupid. "Syd gave some to me. That way, I can come visit her in her room whenever I want."

Joe pulled out one of his spheres, swallowed it, and was inside next to Skyler, still holding Sydney, a half second later. Skyler started up that stairs. Joe followed.

"Do you mind?" Skyler nodded towards Sydney's door.

Joe stepped forward and opened it up for him. Skyler walked inside. Joe's breath caught in his throat. His room seemed like a shack compared to Sydney's.

Luxurious didn't even begin to describe it. It was ginormous! Joe looked up and saw the ceiling was at least fifty feet up. A large diamond chandelier hung down, illuminating the room. Almost everything seemed to be glowing. The entire room was painted a deep red with gold trimmings. Sydney had matching gold, red, and ivory furniture all over the room.

Skyler had set Sydney down on her bed, which was huge as well. Her bed was in it's own separate room with red silk curtains tied back on the sides instead of a door. It had to be the biggest bed Joe ever saw. It made california king beds look puny. Her sheets looked like they were made of satin and were a cherry red color. She had about a hundred plush pillows on it as well. On the sides of the bed, two candle lights were mounted onto the wall, and a candle lit chandelier hung low from the ceiling. The whole area cast an eerie glow.

Skyler sat down on an ivory colored chaise lounge in the center of the room.

"What do we do now?" Joe asked.

"Now, we wait."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update, I had finals to study for and didn't have the time. Now I'm on winter break though, so updates should go back to normal after this. :) Anyway, next chapter is a good one. It was... interesting to write. ;) Review!<strong>


	11. Dark Secrets

**11. Dark Secrets**

"So..." Joe started, trying to start a conversation with Skyler. They had been sitting in Sydney's room waiting for her to wake up for over an hour. They hadn't talked once.

"So?"

"How um..." Joe paused, not sure how he wanted to phrase the question he wanted to ask. "How long have you and Sydney been together?"

"I've known her since I was nine. So about... five years now."

"Yes, but how long have you been _together_?"

Skyler smirked, understanding spreading across his face. "Sydney and I-"

"Sky?"

The boys looked. Sydney was sitting up in her bed, rubbing her eye. She yawned, just waking up.

"What time is it?" She looked at Skyler.

"About four in the afternoon."

Sydney nodded. Joe was confused. Why were they talking as if nothing had happened? He hadn't imagined it, had he?

"Well, if you don't mind I have homework to do. So..."

Skyler nodded. "Of course. See you later, Syd." He got up to leave. Joe stayed sitting. He heard the door open and close behind him.

"That means you too, Joe." Sydney hadn't even looked at him when she spoke. She continued to wake herself up.

"Sydney, what the hell was that?"

"What?"

"You know what."

Sydney stared directly into his eyes. Joe shivered, feeling as if the room's temperature had dropped. "I think you need to leave now."

"No. Not until you tell me what just happened. Skyler said it happens a lot. You can't just let Nicole do this to you. She can't! Whatever happened to you seemed horrible. You shouldn't have to go through that, ever!"

"Joe, stop your little rant and come here."

Sydney never broke eye contact with him as he crossed the room towards her. "Listen, what happened isn't important. I'm aware of the situation and I'm handling it. I don't need your, or anybody else's, help."

"Sydney, please. I'm just looking out for you. I heard you. I saw you. There's no way you can handle this by yourself. Please, just tell me what happened. You'll feel a whole lot better, I promise."

"Who said I felt bad?"

"No one goes through something like that and comes out feeling good."

"I'm fine."

"_Sydney_."

"_Joe_."

Their stares turned to glares and they stayed like that for several minutes.

"I thought I told you to leave."

"But I'm not. Look, I'm sorry I _care_. I just want to help. Do people never offer you help? Is that why you're saying no, because you're not used to it? Has no one ever told you they cared about you? Your mother certainly doesn't."

"Don't call Nicole that." Sydney looked down. She grabbed her bedsheets and balled up her fists.

"Call her what? Your mother?"

"Yes, that."

"Why not?"

"Because a mother loves their child!" She snapped her head back up. "They don't torture them on a daily basis! A mother is someone you can always count on, someone you will always love, someone who puts their child first! Nicole is not any of those things! She hates me! And I hate her!" She broke and tears welled up in her eyes. Joe jumped back.

"You want to know the story? Fine! Everyday Nicole puts me through tests. I have fought in over a thousand fights, battles, and wars. Every week I have to go to the black room. There is nothing in this room except for a plain, ordinary chair. When I go into this room, I have to sit in that chair. Nicole ties me down to it, so that way I can't leave or fight back. She injects me with a drug called Pluphoria. This drug is like LSD, but stronger, much,_ much_ stronger. You relive your memories, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. While under, the drug puts your body in extreme pain. It feels like you're on fire while simultaneously being sliced into by a very, very dull knife.

"Most people's memories aren't bad, but I'm lucky enough to have fought strange beasts in front of huge crowds, competed in competitions to find greatest and best at certain things, and participated in, and won, tournaments to the death." Sydney pulled the collar of her shirt down, revealing the top part of her chest. "See this?" She pointed to a white, jagged scar that traced down from her left collarbone. "This scar is one of many. I earned this one in my first death tournament. Someone tried to stab me in the heart. You wanna know who it was? An eight-year-old girl. Her name was Isabel. She didn't- couldn't push the knife through hard enough. She tried to run, and well- I couldn't just let her run away now could I? She might come back and try to kill me again. And that's not something you fail at twice." Sydney looked past Joe's shoulder into nothing and started to shake. "So I had to kill her, see? A pretty, young, eight-year-old girl. Do you know how awful it is to kill someone? To see their blood on your hands? You don't- can't forget it, ever." Joe reached out to try to calm Sydney, to stop her spastic, psychopathic speech. Just as he touched her, her eyes snapped back to him.

"So now, Nicole makes me relive things like that. She claims its for training purposes, but I know she does it because in that bitch's sick, twisted, demented mind, it's fun to watch me suffer. She wants me to be exactly like her. To be able to kill and not think about it, or to actually enjoy it." Her shaking worsened. "The _best_ part about all of this, is that part of me does. Sick, right? I should be locked away, but no. Nicole feels the need to keep working me, to keep pushing me! I can't help it. I don't know what's wrong with me. If it's just from being Shadowed or if I'm just a psychopath. Part of me just... gets a thrill from it. The power you realize have, it's truly unfathomable." Sydney took in a shaky breath. "As if the nightmares weren't bad enough. Almost every night I have one. I wake up sweating, scratches all over my body, screaming, and no one's here to help me, because I have to live alone, by myself. I want it to end, but it will never stop, not unless I kill myself, which I can't do because I'm a goddamned goddess and there's only one way to kill us, and I just don't know if I could go through with it. Though I know I would be so much happier. Besides, every time I try and get ready to do it, one of my asshole friends decides to walk in at that exact moment. The dead are lucky. Most people pity them, or wish they were back. They shouldn't. Oh, to be among the dead. What a paradise that would be."

Joe sat there, tense. He didn't know what to do. Sydney sat there, shaking. Again, she wasn't looking at him. She just stared off into space, rocked back and forth, and shook violently. Joe looked at her. Without warning, he grabbed her, and held her tight, not wanting to let go.

Sydney screeched and tried to shove him off of her to no avail. She was in no state to use her full strength. She struggled, but Joe did not let go. Minutes later, Sydney went limp in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently, and leaned into his shoulders. Joe felt his shoulders get damp from her tears.

"Shh..." Joe rubbed her back. "It's okay. I'm here."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: See? Told you it was interesting. If that little rant came off as confusing and disorganized, it was supposed to be. Review!<strong>


	12. Let's Talk

**12. Let's Talk**

Joe heard a knock on the door. He got up to answer it. Sydney stood outside the door. She had her hands shoved into the back pockets of her dark blue skinny jeans.

"Hey." She smiled weakly at him. "Want to go for a walk?"

* * *

><p>They stood in an empty room. Several windows looked out at the forest and lake that surrounded Draylon. Above them, on the ceiling, a mural was painted. It showed an hourglass that was about done pouring its sand into its other side, or had just started depending on the way you looked at it.<p>

Joe patiently waited for Sydney to talk. They hadn't said a word to each other yet. Joe hadn't seen her since yesterday, when she had that breakdown.

"I never did say thank you, for yesterday. So, um, thank you."

Joe smiled at her. "It's no problem."

Sydney looked at him. "Whatever I said, just please, forget it. Sometimes I get like that and I don't mean the things I say, mostly."

"Already forgotten."

"Thanks."

"How touching." Sydney and Joe heard the soft click of a gun and spun around. They found themselves facing Sydney.

"What the..." Joe looked back and forth between the two Sydneys. "What the heck is going on here?"

The Sydney next to him shook her head and stepped back. "Your guess is just as good as mine."

The Sydney across the room smirked, "I'd love to stay and explain it all, but I have somewhere to be, _and you_," she pointed the gun at Joe, "have something I want."

Joe stumbled backwards. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

She frowned and stepped closer to Joe, keeping the gun aimed at his heart, "_I said_, I have somewhere to be, now give me what I want, or I'll kill you."

"What do you want? And why should he give it to you?" The two Sydneys stared each other down.

"Because, my boss will get very mad if they don't get it."

"Who's your boss?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now, hand it over."

"Hand what over?"

"_The Book_ of course."

"What?"

"Well, what else could I possibly want? It's not like you own anything else of value."

"Hey!" Joe whined.

"Yeah, listen, that's not going to happen. So, why don't you just put your gun down and leave, and we'll forget this ever happened," the Sydney without a gun put her hands on her hips, "okay?"

"I don't think so."

"Why do you need _The Book_ anyways?"

"I told you, my boss wants it, and after I give it to them, I can get the hell out of here and be free to terrorize the world."

"Why does your boss want it?"

"Reasons. You have ten seconds to hand it over before I shoot."

"Just tell us who the hell you are!"

She sighed, "Fine," she stared into the other Sydney's eyes, "Remember a few months ago when you blacked out, and you _assumed_ it was just from exhaustion?"

Without breaking her gaze, she nodded.

"Right, well, my boss was in charge of that actually. Through a dark arts process that is way too complicated to explain in the short amount of time we have, they managed to extract a piece of your soul."

"My... what?"

"Through another dark arts complicated process I don't _want_ to explain, they made me from that piece of soul. So, basically, I'm you. A part of you anyway, a personified piece of your soul," she glared at Joe, "and if you call me Sydney one more time, I'll kill you. _My_ name is Sin." She smirked as if it was the cleverest thing anyone had ever come up with.

"Your a clone then?" Joe asked.

"No! Didn't you just hear me? I wasn't _cloned_ from her, I am a personified piece of her soul."

"So... a clone?" He repeated.

Sin sighed, "Fine, yes, whatever, I'm her clone."

"So, wait. When Sydney came to my house, and during the first few days I was here, it wasn't Syd, it was you?"

She nodded and spoke as if talking to a small child, "Look who can put two and two together."

Joe scowled.

"Now, are you going to hand over _The Book_ or not?

"No."

Sin shrugged, "Fine by me. I wanted to shoot you anyway."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ahh, Sin. :) Probably my favorite OC yet. ;) Review!<strong>


	13. Let's Play

**13. Let's Play**

Sin blocked Sydney's attack with ease. "Ah, ah, ah, sweetheart. _I'm you_. I know all your moves." Sin held Sydney's ankle above her head.

Sydney smirked. "Maybe so." Sydney jumped and spun, throwing Sin and herself to the ground. "But that doesn't mean you can win."

Sin smiled smugly. "We'll see about that." She rolled away from Sydney and stood. "Did you forget I'm the one with a gun?"

Sydney hopped back up. "No, but it seems awfully cowardice of you to hid behind a gun like that. Not something I would do."

"I know." Sin dropped the gun and kicked it away. It disappeared into the shadows. "You prefer the thrill of killing with your hands."

Sydney cringed. "How do you know about that?"

"I told you, I'm you." Sin stepped towards Sydney and slowly circled her. "I know all your memories... your secrets. I know you."

Sydney dropped to the ground and stuck her leg out behind her. She spun. Sin jumped over her leg and landed on top of Sydney. They rolled over each other, each one trying to get on top of the other. Sin won out.

"Have you not been listening? I know your not stupid. Why are you trying to fight? You can't win. It's hopeless."

Sydney struggled underneath her weight. "You sure about that?" She freed her hand and shot a green energy blast into Sin's chest. Sin screamed and fell back. "Did _you_ forget I could do that?"

They both stood and stared each other down. "So you have a little power. Big deal." Sin spoke. "I can still win this."

"What? Did you not inherit any of it?"

Sin frowned. "Maybe not. But it doesn't matter. You're still going to die."

They resumed fighting. Joe looked back and forth between them. He had trouble telling who was who. He felt useless. He didn't know who to help. He didn't even know how to help if he did. One of the Sydneys pinned the other against the wall. Joe figured Sin was the one pressed against the wall, because the other Sydney had a green glow forming in her hand.

Sydney held Sin up by her neck. Sin smiled as if this was exactly what she wanted all along. "Go ahead, kill me. Let her win. It's exactly what she's hoping for you know."

"Who?"

Sin smirked. "You know who."

"Your boss?"

Sin scowled. "What makes you think I would ever want to work for _her_?"

Sydney paused. She let her guard down and Sin shoved her away. Sin quickly ran to the window and jumped up to the ledge. She looked back. "Farewell. If I don't kill you _he_ certainly will."

Sydney was confused. "He?"

"Big things are ahead for you. Watch your back as well as your front. Your friends may just be your enemies." Sin relaxed herself and fell backwards through the window, toward the ground.

Sydney ran over to the window and looked out. Sin was no where in sight. They were several stories in the air. Where could she have gone?

Sydney sighed and turned around. She collapsed back onto the floor. Joe ran over to her.

"Are you ok?"

Sydney gave him a sad smile. "Yeah. I'm just exhausted. I'll be fine."

Joe looked at her doubtfully.

"Come on. We better report this." Sydney stood and calmly left. Joe quietly followed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I promise Sin will be back in later stories. You don't really get to see much of her or get to know her character very well in this story, so expect more! Merry Christmas guys! Review!<strong>


	14. Research

**14. Research**

Sydney was sitting on her bed, an open book on her lap, with hundreds of other books around her when Joe walked in.

"What are you doing?"

Sydney sighed, "I want to know more about this 'dark arts' stuff. I _need_ to know more about Sin."

"Have you found anything?" Joe asked.

Sydney nodded. "But it can't be right."

"What was it?"

Sydney bit her lip and handed him the book she was reading. "Page eighty-six."

Joe sat down on the bed next to Sydney and flipped through the book until he got to the correct page. He read it slowly and stared at Sydney when he was done. "This can't be true."

"I know! But..." She looked down.

"It's just some stupid book. I don't believe it."

"Joe, read it again and think about it, _really_ think about it. It has to be true."

Joe looked back down at the book and began to read: "_There are several dark arts practices that are considered banned and no one should consider doing. Not even the experts. These include: body possession, mind control, and, the most dangerous of all, soul splitting._

"_People whose souls have been split will not notice the missing part of them, for the soul will heal quickly, replacing what was lost. It is the piece of soul that has been taken you must worry about, at first. The part of the soul taken will always be the darkest part of the soul._

"_No one truly understands the power of the soul, and that is one of the reasons this process is considered forbidden. A soul is an unpredictable thing that we will never understand. A split soul can cause endless damage, destruction, and death to millions._

"_There are many things to do with a split soul, the most common is to keep it, locked up and safe, to fill the soul's original body, once the soul it came from, moves on to the Land of the Dead._

"_However, it has been known for some people to 'personify' the soul, making it appear to be it's own person. When, in reality, it is more like an alter ego of the person it came from. This soul now possesses the ability to cause all of the death and destruction it is capable of, if it so chooses too. It is rare for it not to though._

"_The most important thing to remember is that the personified soul is no different than its origin soul. The amount of damage the new body can cause is the same amount damage the origin soul is capable of doing. You must keep on eye on both souls. It may be hidden, but that destructive soul is in the original one as well. In every case, it eventually comes out. No one understands why or how, but most think it it because the soul, while healed, isn't truly whole, and will do anything to replace that lost part of itself._

"_Do not, under any circumstances, perform this act of the dark arts. If done, be prepared for the end."_

Sydney pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face.

Joe attempted to comfort her. "It's alright, maybe you'll be the first exception."

Sydney shook her head and looked up at him, tears rimming her eyes. "No, you know it as well as I do. Joe, I'm scared. I don't want to go on some rampage and destroy everything! I already went through that when I was Shadowed! I don't want to go through that again! It was horrible!" She looked back down.

Joe put his arm around her shoulders. "It'll be alright. We'll find some way to fix it."

Sydney wiped her eyes. "You know that that won't happen."

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic? Don't give up yet. There might be a way." Joe leaned in towards her face to attempt to grab her attention. He smiled an encouraging smile.

Sydney turned into his face and looked into Joe's eyes. She smiled softly, "I-"

"Sydney!" The door slammed open and Anna crashed into the room, "It- oh, oops." Anna blushed at the scene before her. "Sorry, I'll come back later." She backed out of the room.

"Anna, wait!" Sydney sprang from her bed and stopped Anna from leaving. "What is it?"

"Well, I'm sure it could wait. This seems more important."

"Anna!"

Anna suppressed a smile, "Your mom is looking for you. She said it's an emergency."

"Where is she?"

"She and all the other Gods are in the meeting room."

"One big thing after another." She mumbled to herself as she ran towards the door. She turned back around just as she was about to leave and stared at Joe. "I'll be back soon." She quickly left.

Anna gave Joe a teasing grin.

"What?" He asked as he stood up.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That. The little scene I saw between you two when I came in."

"Nothing. Keep your nose out of it."

Anna giggled. "Uh huh, _sure_. So, why were your faces an inch apart?"

"I was helping her out with something, okay?"

Anna smiled broadly. "_Okay._"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Back to action after this. Review!<strong>


	15. Attack

**15. Attack**

Sydney slammed Joe and Anna's door open. She was out of breath and had a wild look in her eyes. "We have to get the two of you out of here. Now."

"Wha-" Joe began, but Sydney ran up to them and shoved them out of the door. She roughly pushed them down the hall.

"Um, where are we going?" Joe asked.

"Out of here."

"Why?"

Sydney remained silent and continued pushing them through the halls. She studied the walls and silently counted to herself. "Here." She yanked them back with back of their shirt collars and stopped them. They stood in front of a blank wall.

"And here is...?"

Sydney's hand began to glow a faint green. She placed it against the wall. The wall dissolved before their eyes. A dark, empty tunnel stood in front of them. Sydney shoved them inside. A second later, the wall was back in place. They were in complete darkness.

"Okay Sydney, spill it. What happened? Is Sin back?" Joe crossed his arms, though no one could see it.

"Who's Sin?" Anna asked.

"No one."

"It's not Sin," Sydney finally said something. "It's worse, much, much worse than that."

"Well then what is it?"

A chain of explosions went off somewhere. They sounded awfully close.

"Oh gods."

"Sydney, what's happening?"

"I'm _so_ sorry. No one saw this coming. He just came out of no where. I feel so stupid. Sin_ did_ warn me. They must have been working together. _He_ was her boss. As demented as he is, of course he would use the dark arts."

"Again, who's Sin? And who's 'he'?" Anna asked once more.

She was ignored. "We have to make sure you guys get somewhere safe, and fast."

Anna felt Joe get pushed into her. "Ow!"

"It'd be easy to walk if we could see, you know," Joe spoke up.

"Oh! Right, sorry." There was a moment of silence before Sydney's hand flared to life. A bright green glow emanated from it. She held her arm out in front of them. The light wasn't much help. The tunnel was small and her light only went so far. "Better start walking."

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Anna asked, fed up that no one would answer her.

"Yeah, I'd like to know a little more about the situation too."

Sydney shifted uncomfortably, not making eye contact with them. "We're under attack."

"By who?" Joe and Anna asked together.

Sydney did look up at them then. "My brother."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know it's short, sorry. And starting here, the story will kinda be like the original War of Time, but there will still be differences here and there. I needed to include the whole evil Kerk story line for later stories. Review!<strong>


	16. Plans

**16. Plans**

"Brother?" Joe asked, confused.

"Yes, brother. Kerk. Remember him? Kinda hates me, wants to rule? That brother," Sydney spoke.

"Oh." Joe looked down.

"Why is he attacking?" Anna asked.

Sydney stared at her. "It's what he does. This is the third time he's done it."

"Third?"

"First time, he was four, a scary, powerful four-year-old. It was the night I was born." Sydney paused, lost in thought. She quickly snapped out of it. "We had another incident a few years ago. His attack didn't last long. He's smarter now, and I don't think he's going to accept failure so easily this time, but he _can't_ win."

"And if he does?"

"Then we're all screwed."

* * *

><p>"So, what's the plan?" Joe asked.<p>

Sydney started at him, dumbfounded. "What plan?"

"Oh, come on. You have to have a plan."

Sydney shook her head. "Why would I have a plan? That wasn't my job. All I had to do was get you two out of harm's way, and I did that."

Joe raised a brow at her. "And since when have you ever done what you were told?"

Sydney smiled. "Well, I had an _idea_, don't know if you'd call it a plan..."

"What is it?"

Sydney smirked. "Okay, first..."

* * *

><p>Sydney nervously scratched at her wrist.<p>

"You're going to make yourself bleed if you keep that up," Joe warned her.

Sydney's hands quickly dropped to her sides. "Where is he? He should've been here by now." Her hands twitched, as if she was about to start scratching again.

"Calm down. I'm sure he'll get here soon."

Sydney looked towards the wall where they walked in. "He better." She started to scratch her wrist again, but stopped once she realized what she was doing.

"Nervous habit?"

"Little bit, yeah."

"You know, I-"

A soft knock came at the wall. Sydney hurriedly left Joe and opened the wall. "Sky!" Sydney hugged him tight. "What took you so long. I thought you got caught!"

"Sorry. It just took a while to get here." He smiled at Anna over Sydney's shoulder. Anna smiled back.

Sydney noticed and glared at Skyler. She spoke so no one could here them, "Get here, or get ready?"

Skyler looked down. "Sorry."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "You're here now. That's good. We can finally set the plan into action."

"I thought it was an idea, not a plan?" Joe teased.

Sydney smirked at him. "I can change my mind, can't I?" She turned back to Skyler and resumed her seriousness. "Anyway, let me fill you in..."

* * *

><p>"Looks like Anna gets to be our little savior," Skyler said and grinned at Anna almost flirty.<p>

"What did you say?" Sydney snapped to attention.

"That Anna will be our savior?" Skyler spoke cautiously, afraid Sydney was going to get mad at him again.

"_Savior is the girl_."

"What?"

Sydney looked up and smiled. "I think our prophecy is finally starting to make some sense."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, so I didn't have this chapter typed up, and I kinda wrote it in like, an hour. Sorry if it's not my best. Review!<strong>


	17. Battle Strategy

**17. Battle Strategy**

Guards were everywhere. These weren't your average guards however. These ones were very well built and very advanced in the art of killing. Kerk smiled to himself. They had been worth every penny. Some had a higher price for their loyalties than others, but he had no regrets. By the end of the night, all of it would seem like minor costs to pay. After all, you couldn't put a price on Draylon and the complete control of all of the time gods.

He could picture it perfectly. A new world. He planned on changing a lot of things. Starting with who was in charge and running things.

In just a few hours, the guards will have captured them all. Well, most of them anyway. He knew he would have to fight one.

Lightning fast, Kerk struck out. A powerful green ball shot out of his hand and collided with the stone wall with a large explosion. He smiled at the rubble that resulted.

Oh yes, he would be ready for her.

* * *

><p>"You guys ready for this?"<p>

Everyone nodded. "Do we have a choice?"

"No." Sydney smirked. "Remember what to do?"

"Nah, I figured I'd just wing it," Skyler joked.

"Do that, and you'll probably end up dead," Sydney responded.

"You doubt my skills? That hurts, Sydney, really."

Sydney rolled her eyes at him. "Hush. Now, I believe we have a plan to put into action." Sydney cracked her knuckles. She paused and looked at Joe and Anna. "You two do know that this could go horribly wrong, right? The chance of one or more of us coming out dead is pretty high."

Joe and Anna looked at each other and nodded. "We know."

Sydney shrugged. "Your funeral."

Skyler chuckled. "I don't think these two are going to be scared out of this."

Sydney smiled. "I know." She started to walk forward. "Come on. I'm sure someone is expecting us. Besides, we've got a big fight ahead of us. Might as well get it over with. It's not like pushing it off will help us any."

"Get it over with? That doesn't seem like the best battle strategy." Joe spoke.

"You'd be surprised what will work. I've fought enough to know it too. Adjust your strategy for every situation, and if it doesn't work, well, you're screwed."

"It would truly be an honor to go into battle with you."

Sydney smirked. "You have no idea."

They reached a wall and Sydney opened it with her goddess ability. Each of them stepped into the empty, quiet hallway. They heard voices from an opening leading into another room just down the hall.

"But you're about to get a pretty good one."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Finally! After computer problems, busy-ness, and forgetfulness (sorry about that), I'm updating! Sorry that this chapter is short, but when my computer broke it kinda erased what I had written, so I had to retype it, and I don't remember exactly what I had before. Hope this tides you over for a couple days because I don't know when I'll be updating next. Like I said, I have to retype all of this. Fingers crossed, it won't be long. Anyway, review! Also, I have a couple polls up that I'd like you guys to vote on. The links are on my profile in the "About Me" section, under "Polls". Please vote! Thanks! and thanks for your patience as well!<strong>_


	18. Shall We?

**18. Shall We?**

"It's really important that you two stay here until it's time for you to move."

"Yes, we know. You've said that three times now."

"Just making sure you know what to do. We don't need any unnecessary injuries or deaths."

"We'll be fine."

Sydney smiled, but the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. "We'll see."

Joe stuck his head around the corner and into the room they would be fighting in. It was fairly large and had a few windows looking out into the forest. The room seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't remember if he had been in here before or not. He could see several guards lining the walls, all with weapons in hand. "I don't see Kerk anywhere. Are you sure he's here?"

"Positive. He's hiding in here somewhere. We just have to find him."

"I'm sure he'll come out once he sees you," Skyler said.

Sydney smirked. "Me too. Which will make this way too easy." She looked back at her motley gang. "You guys ready?" Everyone nodded. "Good," She turned back to the room. "because here we go."

She quickly slipped around the corner and was on the first guard before he could blink. She wrapped her arms his neck from behind and he slowly fell, unconscious, to the ground. She slid up to the next guard and did the same. She didn't make it to the next one quick enough. He had spotted her along with the rest of them. Sydney smirked and let her fists light up. The fight began, but the guards stood know hope. It would be over soon and Sydney would be the obvious victor. She threw one over to the wall near the entrance, causing some of the stone to break and block part of the entrance. Keeping Joe and the others outside.

Joe panicked. "What's she doing!"

"Her plan."

Joe spun around and stared at Skyler head on. "What? This isn't what we planned at all!"

Skyler shook his head. "You really don't know her at all, do you? No, this isn't what _we_ planned, but I'm sure this is what she had in mind all along. Keep you two safe and take on the danger herself."

"Then why are you here?"

Skyler shrugged. "To keep you here I'm guessing. Don't need you trying to play the knight in shining armor and attempting to save the day only to end up hurt or dead. Syd will be fine. It's not like she hasn't done anything like this before."

Joe thought back to how Sydney kept telling them to stay put. He sighed and looked down. "I feel so stupid."

A guard flew over there heads and crashed into the wall beside them. Joe and Anna looked back and saw Skyler standing low with a slight look of triumph in his eyes.

When he spoke, he didn't appear to be out of breathe at all. "He had a gun and two knives on him. You're welcome."

Anna recovered from the shock first. "Oh! Um, thank you!"

Skyler smiled at her. "It's no big deal. I've been training with Syd for a long time. It's almost too easy." Loud noises sounded near by. Skyler frowned. "We should be more careful. This place is crawling with enemies who would love to get rid of us."

"I thought this was easy?" Joe smirked at him.

"One or two simple guards, yes, but there are plenty of other threats to watch out for. Most of who could kill you in a heartbeat and not think twice about it."

"Oh." Joe cast his gaze downward. He glanced back up. "But what if-"

"Shh!"

"But-"

"Shh!" Skyler dove towards Joe and smothered his mouth.

Footsteps were coming down the hallway. They were getting closer and closer. Feint outlines of three well-built men were growing larger as they grew close to the trio.

Skyler grabbed the siblings and pushed them both father down the corridor. They soon found themselves hidden in a dark corner at the end of the hall. "Stay here and don't move."

Silently, Skyler snuck down the wall, moving in and out of the shadows as he did. He managed to get almost five feet away from the guards before they saw him. Skyler still had the advantage though and quickly knocked down one guard before any of them could react. The other two guards quickly recovered and charged towards Skyler. He easily slide underneath them to dodge and punched one in the back of the knee. The guard only stumbled slightly before turning around and slamming Skyler into the ground. He twisted around and loosened the guard's grip on him and shoved him off with his legs. The second guard helped his friend up. They circled around Skyler who crouched down and swept his leg out. The first man was caught off-guard and fell hard onto his back. The second man managed to jump out of the way only to run right back and punch Skyler in the side of the head.

"I think this is our perfect chance to get away," Joe said.

"What?" Anna looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious. What if Skyler needs our help?"

"He looks like he can handle this. Besides, he said it himself. One or two guards would be easy for him, and he's already got two down. Sydney's in there all alone. God knows what's happening. She may need help. And anyway, we made a plan, remember? I plan to follow it."

"But Sydney-"

"But nothing. Come on!" Joe grabbed her hand and dragged her off. They encountered no challenges as they raced down the hall and into the room. They arrived as soon as Sydney knocked down the last guard.

* * *

><p>Sydney straightened up and looked around. "Oh, brother?" She spoke in a sing-song voice. "Where are you hiding? This hardly seems very brave of you. I expected more."<p>

A large object slammed down on the ground behind her. "Well, you know I hate to disappoint."

Sydney turned over her shoulder. Kerk stood behind her, proud, as if he had already won the battle."

"Where's your little boyfriend? Not here fighting by your side as always? Or did you two break up?"

"You mean Sky? Oh, I'm sure he's around. Fighting bad guys and what not. I wouldn't let him anywhere near here though. We both know one of us isn't leaving here alive."

A malicious smile played along his lips as his hands began to glow green. "And it will be you."

Sydney smirked right back at him. "Guess again." She held her arms out to her sides and her fists flared to life. "Shall we?"

"Let's."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Wow! Didn't think I'd have the next chapter up this fast. Let's hope the next one is up just as soon! :P Hope it's actiony enough for you and that its longness makes up for the previous chapter's shortness. Those polls I mentioned are still up and still need to be voted on. The links are on my profile still, so please, go vote! And as always, don't forget to review! If you don't review, I won't know that anyone is reading this, and if no one reads it, I'm not going to post it. Okay? So, review please!<strong>_


	19. Life or Death

**19. Life or Death**

Kerk clapped his hands together and a stream of time energy shot out directly towards Sydney. She extinguished her hands and jumped much higher than any normal person should be able to jump. Kerk missed by a lot. Sydney flipped backwards and shot down at Kerk. He managed to slide back just in time, but the aftershock of Sydney's landing threw him off balance. Sydney chose that moment to strike and kicked him hard in the chest. Kerk hit back all too quick however and shot at Sydney with a powerful green ball of energy. Their fight was getting worse and worse, and it quickly became obvious this was going to be a fight to death.

"We have to help her somehow." Joe looked around, but he didn't see anything that would help.

"How?" Anna didn't see anything either.

"Um..." Joe froze. Something glinted in the shadows in front of them. "What's that?" Cautiously, he went towards it.

The gun was cold and heavy.

Joe jumped and dropped it.

The bullet that fired barely missed Sydney and Kerk. They bounced apart and yelled.

Joe remembered why the room looked so familiar to him. This was where Sydney and Sin had faced off not too long ago. It was Sin's gun he had found lying on the floor.

"What in the...?" Sydney looked around and saw Joe and Anna. She glared.

Kerk took advantage of the fact that she wasn't paying attention and jumped her. She quickly regained her focus and continued fighting back. She managed to shove him off of her and push him head first into the wall. He stumbled around.

Sydney bolted over to Anna and Joe. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing? I thought we had a plan?" Joe crossed his arms.

"You need to leave. Now."

"We're here to help."

"I don't need help." Sydney looked over her shoulder and saw that Kerk was regaining some composure. "Now go!"

"No."

"Joe, I swear to God-"

"We're not leaving you."

"I'm not going to let you get hurt or worse!"

"Sydney, I-" His eyes widened. "Look out!" He tackled her onto the ground.

The green blast Kerk had shot collided with the wall behind them.

"Um, thanks." Sydney looked at Joe, who was still laying on top of her, and saw his arm had been hit. The shot had just grazed his skin, but he was still bleeding. "Your arm!"

Joe glanced at it. "I'll be fine."

Sydney looked into his eyes and her expression softened.

Kerk cleared his throat. "If you two are done? I believe we were in the middle of something."

Sydney and Joe both blushed and stood up. Sydney looked at him one last time. "Just try to stay out of the way."

She turned back to Kerk and sprinted towards him. Their fight resumed, even deadlier than the first time. The fight looked like it could last forever. Both Sydney and Kerk were strong and evenly matched.

"I know she doesn't want us to, but if we don't do something, this fight will never end," Anna spoke.

"I know, I know. I'm trying to think of something." Joe searched the room with his eyes, desperate to find something that would work.

"I may have an idea." Anna looked to where Joe had dropped the gun and slowly made her way towards it.

Joe hadn't even noticed until Anna was bending over to pick it up.

"Anna! What are you doing?"

She looked at him with sad eyes. "We have to help. This is the only way."

Joe tried to make his way over to her, but his arm hurt more than he admitted and there was too much rubble on the ground for him to get to her.

"Anna, you don't have to do this. We'll figure something else out."

But Anna ad zoned him out. She raised the gun and placed her finger on the trigger. She just had to wait for Kerk to stop moving so much.

The gods kept up their fighting, neither side wanting to quit, but even they knew this fight was at a stalemate. They spread back from each other, letting their fists come to life.

Anna's hands shook as she took aim. She took a deep breathe. She could do this. Sydney wouldn't win without it. But as she looked up at Kerk, she knew she wouldn't, couldn't, do it. "I-I can't." She let the gun drop to her side.

Joe looked relieved, until he looked back at Sydney and Kerk. His heart started to pound hard and fast.

You could see the power flowing through their bodies. Their eyes turned solid green and their veins slowly began to turn green as well. It was almost creepy as every vein in their bodies were being traced in a bright green glow. Soon their entire bodies were lit up, all their power finally built up.

Their forces collided. A blinding light filled the room as the whole place exploded and came toppling down.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry this chapter took awhile. Some stuff came up and I didn't have time to write a lot. I also made up some story covers, tell me if you like them or not. I can also help you with yours if you like. I'm pretty good with photoshop. :)<strong>_

_**Anyway, review! I used to get about 4-5 per chapter, now I'm only getting 1-2. :( So, if you could all start reviewing again, I'd be happy. Tell me what you like, tell me what you don't like. Just review please! :)**_


	20. Scars

**20. Scars**

Dust was everywhere. Part of the room had collapsed, right where Sydney and Kerk had been standing one second earlier.

Joe and Anna coughed and tried to get away from the cloud that had filled the room. Neither could see through it to see what had happened or if Sydney and Kerk had even survived.

Joe staggered to his feet and helped Anna to hers.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked his sister.

"I think so. Are you?"

"I'm good."

"Is..." She didn't finish the sentence, didn't need to.

"I have no idea."

They waited for the smoke to clear, which took much too long for their comfort.

"What if-" Anna started.

"Don't say it." Joe cut her off. "She's fine. She has to be."

"Joe-"

He waved her off and started to walk forward. The dust had cleared enough that they could see dark shapes laying on the floor. None of them moved. None of them looked human. None of them gave Joe any hope.

He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear away the dirt in them. When he dropped his hands the smoke had cleared. Rubble filled the room. An entire wall had caved in, taking the ceiling above with it. Sydney lay in the middle of the floor. A large chunk of ceiling stood next to her, barely missing her by an inch. She was completely still and didn't appear to be breathing. Kerk was no where in sight, but they had no time to worry about that.

"Sydney!" Joe and Anna ran for her.

Sydney didn't move or make a sound as they knelt next to her. She had a long, deep, jagged gash going from the right side of her forehead to just underneath her right temple. It almost went through her eye. There was a lot of blood coming from it. Joe and Anna didn't even think about why it was bright green. They were too concerned.

Anna felt Sydney's cheek only to find out that her skin was ice cold.

"Does she have a pulse?" Joe asked. He spoke so fast his words morphed into one big word. He was clearly worried, so was Anna.

Anna shook her head. "I don't know!"

"Well check!"

"I'm not a doctor!"

Joe sighed. Arguing would get them no where. As gently as he could, he picked Sydney up into his arms. He didn't like the way she didn't respond. He bit his lower lip, nervous and worried.

"I'm going to take her to the infirmary. You need to go find someone, anyone, who can help."

Anna nodded, but she didn't seem too sure of herself. "Okay. I hope she's not-"

Joe cut her off. "We'll see you in a little bit. Got it?"

"Joe, you have to be rational. She may be-"

"Got it?" He repeated, more sternly than before.

Anna frowned and looked at Sydney somberly. "Fine. Be careful."

Joe nodded. "You too."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry it's a little short, but the next chapter is long. Review please! I do have anonymous reviews enabled, so even if you don't have an account on here and you are reading this, you can still review. So, review!<strong>_

_**I'd also like to add that the Time Warp Trio fanfiction community used to be way more active. What happened to you guys? I think more people need to get back in to updating and reviewing. A lot of people wrote some really good stuff and haven't updated in years! I'm sure we can make this community thrive again!**_


	21. Open Hearts

**21. Open Hearts**

It wasn't long before Sydney awoke. She tried sitting up, but her arms gave out and she collapsed back onto the bed.

Joe jumped up and ran over to her, panic written all over his face. "Are you alright?"

Sydney grimaced. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

She looked up at Joe. "Positive."

Joe looked her up and down just to make sure. A nurse had come in a little bit ago and stitched up her forehead. She didn't answer when Joe ask her if Sydney was going to be okay.

"That was a interesting battle. You're really good. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I mean, because you were so nice to watch." Joe blushed. "I mean-"

Sydney held up her hand. "I know what you mean, Joe." She smiled knowingly.

"Oh, um, that's good."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

They fell into an awkward silence and averted their eyes. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Joe.

"Hey, um, Sydney?"

"Hmm?" She cautiously looked back at him.

"Do you remember our first adventure here?"

Sydney smiled. "Yeah."

"Do you remember when we went to Greece and had to fight my crazy uncle?"

Sydney's smile fainted. "Yeah," she spoke slowly, not sure where Joe was going with this.

"You sacrificed yourself for me."

"I couldn't let you die."

"But you could let yourself die?"

"Well..." She smiled sheepishly. "I just thought it would be better if it was me, not you. Besides, I survived... sorta."

Joe nodded. He didn't want to bring up Sydney being Shadowed, and he knew she didn't want to talk about it either. "Right. Well, anyway, um, You said something to me, right before you went out. Do you remember what you said?"

"Um..."

"Kinda went something like, 'I love you'."

Sydney blushed and looked away. "Oh, that? That's nothing. Just a little kid crush. Doesn't matter anymore."

Joe frowned, clearly upset. "Yeah, I figured. Just thought I'd ask anyway."

Nicole and Anna came into the room then and broke up the awkward silence that had once again filled the room.

Nicole bent over Sydney and started to examine her. Sydney winced as Nicole poked her cut. "That's going to scar." Sydney smacked Nicole's hand away.

Joe remembered all that Sydney had told him and glared at Nicole. "Why did you bring Nicole? Wasn't Skyler out there?"

"I didn't see him. She was the first person I could find. This place is still crawling with guards. It was hard to get around. Why? What's wrong with bringing Nicole? She is Sydney's mom, right?"

"Sort of," Sydney spoke while giving Nicole a death glare.

Nicole ignore it. "We have too many people we need to get in here. She'll be fine. Can you take her back to her room?" Nicole asked.

Joe nodded. "Sure."

He tried to help Sydney up, but she shoved him away. "I can walk." She stubbornly stood and took two steps before she stumbled and quickly grabbed onto Joe for support.

"Sure about that?" He smirked at her.

She frowned teasingly and lightly hit him in the chest. "Shut up."

* * *

><p>Joe set Sydney down on her bed, the deep red, satin sheets were scattered along with a million pillows. Her bed looked like it had not been made in a long time.<p>

"You okay?" Joe asked, concerned.

"Fine." Sydney offered up a reassuring smile. "I've been through worse."

"Really? How worse?"

"One of my ribs broke and stabbed me in my lung once."

Joe stared at her wide eyed. "How are you still alive?"

"I'm a Goddess, Joe. There's only one way to kill us."

"And how is that?"

Sydney smirked. "That's not a secret I'm willing to tell."

Joe smiled and sat down next to her. "I'm really glad your okay. I thought you," he paused and stared into her eyes, "I thought-" Sydney returned his stare, waiting for him to finish his sentence. "I thought you were going to die, and I just- I don't know what I would've done. I-" He continued to look at her, flustered. "I-"

Sydney gave him a look of concern, "Are you-"

She was cut off by Joe's mouth brushing against hers. It lasted for half a second before Joe shot back and stood up.

"I am_ so_ sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done that," he talked very fast. "You have every right to slap me or be pissed or whatever. I know you have Skyler and that's cool with me, really. You two are great together. And I-"

"Skyler?" Sydney raised an eyebrow at him, still slightly dazed over what had just happened. "What does Sky have to do with anything?"

"Well, aren't you two, you know, _together_?"

Sydney threw her head back with laughter. "Sky and I are _not_ together." She looked at Joe and started laughing again.

"You're not?"

Sydney shook her head and squelched her giggles. "No. I love Sky, but Sky and I, we're like brother and sister. That's all."

"But you two act so... close."

"Well yeah, but that's just because we're really good _friends_. Nothing more."

"So, what I just did... that was... okay? I mean ethically okay, like you weren't cheating on anyone. Not like okay with you, I mean, I hope it was, because I'm really sorry if it wasn't, and-"

"Joe?" Sydney cut him off. "You're talking a lot."

Joe sighed. He sat back down next to Sydney and put his head in his hands. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I really am."

"Stop saying you're sorry."

"But, I am!"

"Joe-"

Joe cut her off, "I didn't mean to kiss you, it just happened. Honestly!"

"Joe-"

"I just looked at you and I stopped thinking. Everything just happened so fast, I didn't even know what I was doing."

"Joe-"

"Sydney, I'm _so_ sorry. I know you're probably a bit freaked out now and I understand, I do, really, but I- I'm just so sorr-"

Suddenly, her lips were on his. Sydney had cut him off with a kiss. "Joe, you don't have to apologize." She smiled softly at him. "It was... nice."

"Really? Because I-"

"Joe, you're doing that talking thing again."

"Oh, sorr- nevermind." He looked down, then back up again. "So, you really thought is was nice?"

Sydney nodded, then blushed, "Yeah, I was kind of hoping for it actually." She looked away, embarrassed.

"Oh, really?" He sounded like he didn't believe her. "But you said you didn't, you know, feel that way anymore, that all you had was a little kid crush on me."

"I did, and that did go away after awhile, but after seeing you again and how you tried to save me back there, I don't know, something just... clicked."

Joe still refused to believe her. "You're joking. You like me? Really?"

Sydney looked back at him with a playful grin. "Yes, really. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Well, it's just that you're... you, and I'm... me." He looked down.

Sydney tilted her head to the side and pulled his face back in her direction with her fingertips. She studied him. "And that's supposed to change anything?"

"Well, even I know you could do better."

Sydney chuckled softly. "Better? The broken girl who could mentally collapse or break down completely at any moment or... worse..." She looked down at her hands and traced the scars on the heels of her palms that she had given herself.

"You're not broken." Joe grabbed her hands.

Sydney smiled. She kissed him once more and pulled him down onto the bed with her.

"Sydney?" Joe broke away after a few moments.

"Hmm?" She leaned back into him.

"I, uh, I think I love you." Joe blushed, thinking it was too soon.

Sydney smiled and ran her hand through his hair. "I think I love you too, Joe." She pulled his lips back to hers.


	22. The Trial

**22. The Trial**

_Two Weeks Later..._

"Sydney!" Joe grinned. "I haven't seen you since... well, you know." Joe blushed and reached forward to give her a hug.

Sydney stepped back and looked passed him. "Anna!" She pushed past Joe and walked into their room. "I've been looking for you."

"You have? Why?" Anna asked.

"It's time."

"Time for what?"

Sydney looked at her with a sad smile on her face. "Your trial."

* * *

><p>"Sydney, please. Talk to us. What's going on?" Joe pleaded with her.<p>

"I just told you. Anna's trial is about to begin."

"But why is she being tried? She hasn't done anything!"

"That's the problem." She walked ahead. "Her lack of action has been perceived as a form of treachery, betrayal, and treason."

"What's with her?" Anna spoke.

"I don't know." _But I wish I did_, Joe thought.

* * *

><p>"Welcome. I'm sorry we had to bring you in without any notice, but this is a very important matter, and it must be dealt with." John spoke with power and command, and you couldn't help but stare at him in awe when he gave a speech.<p>

Anna, however, could apparently. She was too busy taking in the room to even notice he was talking. Her head was tilted straight up to look at the ceiling, or lack there of. The beautiful blue sky opened up before her. If she looked closely, she could she tendrils of green mixed in with the blue.

John cleared his throat and Anna snapped back to reality. "Oh! Um, sorry." She blushed and tried to look away, only to find that the gods' stares surrounded her on all sides. She decided she didn't like this magnificent circular room one bit.

"Yes, well, to continue, I'm sorry this trial has taken so long to take place. Frankly, we're surprised you stayed as late as you have."

"Well, I wanted to go home, but Joe refused to leave."

"Why is that?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm his sister. it's not like he tells me everything or anything at all really."

"Well then," John looked at Joe, "Why have you 'refused' to leave?"

"I, uh..."

"Come now boy, we may be time gods, but we don't have all day here."

"I really wanted to talk to Sydney, but, well, we haven't exactly had time to do that. If she-" Joe shook his head and looked at Sydney, "if _you_ even want to. It just seems like you've been ignoring me ever since..." he trailed off.

Sydney opened her mouth as if to respond, but quickly shut it and continued to not make eye contact with him or anyone else.

John observed the two of them. "Sydney has been asked to not make contact with the two of you in light of this trial. She's lucky she was even allowed to be a part of it at all considering your relationship."

"Oh." Joe looked down, but relief spread over his face.

"Now, back to you, Anna." The attention returned to Anna. "Anna Lynne Arthur, after hearing and analyzing the battle report from Sydney," Sydney had not been paying much attention, it seemed. She started at the sound of her name. She quickly glanced at her father, and just as quickly looked back down at the ring-shaped stone table that wrapped around the room in front of all the gods, "you are being tried for treason against the Draylon Council of Gods for not taking proper action against Kerk Myer when given the opportunity. That same man has now disappeared and is on the loose. This is a great threat to many people. By not taking action you have endangered the lives of many people. Do you deny any of these accusations?"

"Didn't take- You're accusing me of not killing a man?" Anna looked around at each of the gods, disbelief written all over her face.

"That is correct."

"I couldn't kill him! I-"

"Do you deny the accusations of not?"

Anna sighed. "No. Aren't I supposed to have a lawyer?"

John smiled. Anna hoped that meant that he was on her side. "Our trials are not quite the same as your Earth trials. Sorry, no lawyer."

"Oh." Anna looked at the floor.

"To continue. We have been debating heavily over how to deal with this situation."

"She should be locked up. I don't see why we have to debate about it," One of the gods spoke up.

Anna jumped. They couldn't be serious. "I'm sorry I didn't kill Kerk, but once I had the gun aimed, I realized I just couldn't do it. I can't take away someone's life! I'm only thirteen!"

"The girl does not deserve to be locked up. We can't expect her to be able to kill at such a young age," another god added.

"She isn't that young. She should've had no problem killing him! I mean, how many people had Sydney killed by the time she was her age?"

Sydney tensed and dug her nails into the table, turning her knuckles white. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if that would make this all go away. Her body shook.

"You cannot compare this child to Sydney. The two aren't anywhere near the same level of power and capability." Nicole defended.

John looked down at his emotionally scarred daughter. He looked like he desperately wanted to help her, but he was too far away. "We are not here to discuss Sydney. We are here to decide the fate of Anna. May we move on without any more interruptions?"

The gods all nodded their consent.

"Anna, you have one chance to plead you case. After you are done, we will all say what we feel is best for your sentencing."

Anna nodded. "Okay, well, um, I understand that you are all upset, and I get that this could be very dangerous for a lot of people, but I'm just not capable of killing someone. The thought of ending another life terrified. I couldn't live with that if I had gone through with it. I can't kill anyone, even if they are evil. I can see why you would want to punish me for not doing anything and I'm ready to accept any punishment you have for me, but when you're making your decisions just try to remember that I have a heart and I'm sure you all do too. Murder isn't something someone with a good, loving, caring heart can do. I have no regrets."

John studied her for a moment. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Very well then. Gods, please state what you think her sentence should be. I believe she deserves no punishment. Let her go."

Anna smiled. Maybe she would walk away free.

"I think she needs to be thrown into jail."

Anna's smile vanished. Or maybe not.

One by one the gods voiced their opinions. Anna did a mental count and found that it was currently evenly split. Half of them wanted her free, the other half wanted her in jail. The only god who had not spoken yet was Sydney. Anna relaxed. Sydney wouldn't send her to jail. Anna would be just fine.

"What do you think we should do, Sydney?" John turned to his daughter.

Sydney looked at her hands. "Exile."

Anna tensed. _What?_

The room erupted into a chorus of whispers. John silenced them.

"Surely you have a good reason for suggesting such a drastic punishment. We haven't sent someone into exile in centuries."

Sydney just shrugged. "It's what I recommend."

"And what's your reasoning for this?"

"She'd make good bait."

* * *

><p><em><strong>So basically, Anna is being accused of showing 'feelings of an almost human nature' (cookies for you if you get that reference ;) ). Anyway, I do have the rest of this story typed up and will be posting daily until it's done as long as I get my reviews! So review! (or I guess technically it's comment now...)<strong>_


	23. The Aftermath

**23. The Aftermath**

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I rewrote this because what I originally posted was as... intense as I wanted it to be. This rewrite still isn't as dark as I wanted, but it'll do. I only changed Sydney and Joe's fight.<em>**

* * *

><p>"Bait?"<p>

"Yes, bait."

"Please, explain what you mean."

Sydney sighed and continued to not make eye contact with anyone. "Kerk is most likely severely damaged from the battle. He's going to be very mad, and he's going to want revenge. I think it would be best to send her into exile in the after time, lure Kerk in, it is his area after all. He won't be able to resist her."

"But you were the one who caused the damage done to him. Wouldn't it make more sense to send you in?" John looked at Anna. "You would have a better survival chance."

Sydney shook her head. "He'd know it was a trap. He's not that stupid. It has to be her. We can take him after he comes for her."

"And if she dies?"

Sydney shrugged. "She dies."

* * *

><p>Anna paced back and forth. Joe leaned against the wall, deep in thought. They had been sent outside while the gods figured out what to do with Anna.<p>

"Why would she say that?" Anna asked.

"I don't know."

"She can't be serious, right?"

"I don't know."

"Exile sounds awful! And I might die! I can't die!"

Joe stared at his sister. "I'll talk to Sydney after all this is done. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"You sure?"

Joe smiled. "They won't send a little girl to jail, and if they try to, I'll stop them."

Anna smiled and gave Joe a hug. "Thanks. You know, sometimes you are an okay big brother."

Joe laughed and hugged her back. "And I guess you're not the world's worst little sister."

"You may return."

They both jumped. A god neither of them recognized stood before them, waiting for them to go back into the room.

Anna straightened and strode confidently into the room. Joe smiled and followed.

* * *

><p>"We, the Draylon Council of Gods, sentence you, Anna Lynne Arthur, with no punishment. You are free to go.<p>

Anna sighed with relief. "Thank you." She looked to Joe who smiled at her as if to say 'See? I told you.'

"This trial is now adjourned. You are all free to go as you please." John looked at Sydney. She smiled, but her eyes remained sad. "We will meet again tonight."

Joe grabbed Sydney's wrist before she could get away. He could feel the scars underneath his fingertips.

"Hey. Can we talk?" Sydney's eyes went along Joe's arm until they reached his face.

"Joe, I can't. I have to-"

"Please?" His eyes softened. "I just- please. We need to talk."

"I-" She searched his eyes, then the room. "Fine, but not here. Too many ears."

"We can go to your room."

"Okay."

Joe let go of her wrist and followed her out the door.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you actually listened to them."<p>

"What do you mean?"

"They told you not to talk to me, and you did. Totally not like you at all. I really thought you would have still snuck around to see me. Especially, after we- well, you know."

"Oh, that. I- I didn't really feel like talking."

"I thought you were just avoiding me because we weren't allowed to talk?" Joe was confused.

"I was... but I had other reasons."

"But we-" Joe reached for her hand, but Sydney flinched back.

"I'm sorry," Sydney choked out.

"Why are you doing this? Do- do you regret it? I'm so sorry."

Sydney said nothing.

"Well? Say something, please."

"I don't want to lie to you, but I don't want to tell you the truth either."

Joe felt like he had just been slapped. "You what? Don't you love me?"

Sydney looked into his eyes. "Of course I do."

"You're not acting like it."

"I-"

"And what was up with you at the trial today? Trying to make Anna bait? What's wrong with you? She's my sister!" Joe's hurt turned into anger all too quickly.

"Joe, listen to me. I'm sor-"

"Were you just using me all this time? Why? So you could get closer to Anna and use her as bait, probably getting her killed in the process?"

"No!" Sydney was shocked he would assume that.

"Then what? What is going on then?"

"I'm s-"

"Forget it! You clearly don't feel the way I thought you did. Why should I even pretend to care about you?"

Sydney clenched her fists. "You're not listening to me! Joe, I'm sorry, but-"

"I don't think you deserve my listening to you! What about the other night? Did that mean nothing to you?"

Sydney clutched the sides of her head. "Don't y-"

"What is your problem? Are you just so screwed up you don't care about anyone's feelings?"

Sydney tightened her grip on herself and squeezed her eyes shut, as though that would make everything go away. "Joe-"

"Or do you think you're just so much better than anyone else? You're not perfect, you know! You made that clear a while ago when you were all drugged up and screaming your freaking head off!"

Sydney clenched her hands into fists and slowly lowered her arms. A feint green glow emitted from them. Dark fog slowly wrapped itself around her fists. She was shaking violently. Her voice took on a dark undertone. "Stop-"

Joe ignored her and kept attacking her. "I'm sure you're full of flaws. Hell, maybe Nicole just trains you so hard because you just suck at everything you do!"

That was crossing a line. The green glow intensified and the darkness grew darker. Sydney was loosing control. "I'll kill you."

"Why are you so awful? Why can't you do anything right? Why are you so hated?"

"Don't yell at me, Nicole!" Sydney fell to her knees, shaking and mumbling to herself. Her arms wrapped around her torso, clutching at her sides.

"Nicole?" Joe's glare faded. "Sydney? Are you-"

"Get out!" She screeched. "Get out! Get out! Get out and never come back!" Her head snapped up and for a moment, her eyes went completely black.

Joe's glare returned. "Fine!"

He had never slammed a door harder as he left.


	24. Unhappy Birthday

**24. Unhappy Birthday**

"I need to talk to you."

Joe shoved past Skyler and continued to stomp away. He just wanted to get as far away from her as he could. He'd already been walking around for almost two hours and he was still pissed.

"Joe, stop! This is important! Sydney _needs_ you!"

Joe paused, but he did not turn around to look at Skyler.

"You have to go back and talk to Sydney. She- Do you know how many times I've had to talk her out of suicide?She hates her life! She hates herself! She needed a reason to live!"

Joe stood stock still and turned to glare at Skyler. "And what?"

Skyler looked straight into Joe's eyes. "And she found you."

Joe's face of anger melted away, but returned almost immediately. He started to march away again, but Skyler ran in front of him.

"Listen to me. I know you two had a fight, but you need to make up with her. I know things got a little crazy today at the trial, but Syd had the right idea. It could've worked. No one would've had to have worried about Kerk ever again."

"Why are you taking her side? She tried to have Anna killed!"

Skyler rolled his eyes. "I know Syd. She's not stupid. I'm sure she had a plan and a pretty damn good reason for it. Anna would never have been in harm's way." He started to walk away, paused, and turned back. "You should really consider patching things up with her before you go. She-" He shook his head. "I just think it would be for the best." He left.

Joe stood there alone. He couldn't decide if he wanted to believe Skyler or not. Sydney wasn't stupid, he knew that, and he probably should've trusted her a bit more. Joe sighed. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

><p>There was a knock on the door.<p>

"Oh. It's you." Sydney glared at Joe and crossed her arms. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from me?"

"Well-"

"Because this isn't how you stay away from someone."

"Sydney," Joe paused, not quick sure what to say, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, but I was upset that you would offer Anna up like that. We may fight a lot, but I still love her. You also had me really stressed out. I mean, we-" Joe stopped, almost to scared to say it. He shook his head. He wasn't embarrassed. "We made love, Sydney. It was my first time, and when you didn't talk to me I thought-"

All the color had drained from Sydney's face. She looked over her shoulder. It was the first time Joe had noticed there were several people gathered in Sydney's room. The only person he recognized was Skyler. They looked like they were celebrating. Most of them had teasing smirks on there faces and were giggling.

"Oh. Oops." Joe's faced turned a deep crimson.

Sydney shoved him out of her doorway. "Outside. Now." She slammed her door shut. "What the hell?" She looked like she was about to slap him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know anyone else was in there! I swear, I never would have said anything if I knew!

Sydney clenched her fists. "Why couldn't you just stay away?" Tears had begun to swell up in her eyes.

Joe was shocked by her sudden tears. "I wanted to apologize. Skyler told me-"

"Sky? I'm going to kill him. What did he say to you?"

"Nothing."

"What did he say?" She repeated, a dark tone creeping into her voice.

"He really didn't tell me anything. He just said that I needed to apologize to you, that it would be best."

"Did he say why?"

"No."

Sydney sighed and relaxed her muscles. "Good."

"Why? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Sydney gazed into his eyes. She looked like she desperately needed to tell him something. "No. Tonight is going to be stressful enough. We can talk later."

"What's tonight?"

She frowned, clearly hurt. Joe was lost. What had he said?

"Joe, I'm-"

"You don't have to go fight in another battle, do you?"

Sydney offered him a depressed smile. "No. It's my birthday. I'm eighteen today."

"Oh! Crap! Sydney I didn't know! Um, happy birthday!" Joe stuttered, trying to make up for his mistake. "You know, my birthday is in a few months. I'll be sixteen." Joe grinned sheepishly, he felt like he said the wrong thing.

"That's nice." Sydney sighed again and slumped down the wall to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Joe was worried he'd said something wrong again.

"Nothing. It's just," she took a deep breathe, "an eighteenth birthday is kind of a big deal, especially for a god or goddess."

Joe joined her on the floor. "Why?"

"It's kind of hard to explain."

"Try me."

"Well, when a god or goddess turns eighteen they have to make a choice."

"What kind of choice?"

"They have to choose whether or not they want to remain at Draylon and stay a god, or leave, give it all up, and become mortal. It's not exactly the easiest decision to make."

Joe blinked. "So, if you wanted to, you could leave here? Get away? Don't you want that?" He thought back to the dark confessions Sydney had made earlier. "After all that's happened, wouldn't it be best for you? And," Joe thought about it for a moment, then grabbed Sydney's hand. She looked up at him, curious. "for us?"

Sydney smiled a sad smile. "I don't know. Part of me really wants to get out of here, leave and never come back, but I still have my reasons to stay. I have so many friends here, and believe it or not, there are a few good memories too."

"But-"

Sydney held up her hand. "Don't. It's a hard enough decision to make and I only have until midnight tonight to make it."

"Really?"

Sydney nodded. "There's this big, elaborate ceremony type thing. I have to tell all the other gods and goddesses my decision."

"Can I come?"

She shook her head. "Gods only." She smiled softly. "Thank you for offering though." She dragged her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. "I have no idea what to do."

"I'm sure it'll come to you." Joe put his arm around her shoulders. "Do whatever you feel is best. All the other gods had to make this decision too, right?"

Sydney stared into his eyes. "I wasn't talking about that."

"Then what did you mean?"

Sydney sighed and offered him a sad smile. "Joe, something happened the other day, and I-" she looked down at her hands, but quickly looked away in fear, "I can't contr-"

"If you two are done, Sydney has a party she kinda needs to return to."

They both jumped and looked up at the new voice. A girl that appeared to be about Sydney's age stood before them, leaning on Sydney's door frame. She had dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders and pale green eyes.

"Alright, Ashleigh. I'll be there in a minute."

The girl, Ashleigh, crossed her arms. "You better. Who ditches their own birthday party?" She went back inside and closed the door.

"Who was that?" Joe asked.

"Ashleigh. I've known her for a long time. She's dating Skyler's brother, Kyle. They've been together forever. She's a good person, but there are times you just want to smack her."

Joe stood up and pulled Sydney to her feet. "Have fun."

Sydney tilted her head. "You're not coming?"

"Um, I didn't know I could."

Sydney laughed softly and grabbed Joe's hand. "I don't think I would be a very good girlfriend if I told my own boyfriend that he couldn't come to my eighteenth birthday party."

Joe perked up. "Boyfriend?"

Sydney grinned and winked at him. "Of course. We made love, Joe. I'm pretty sure that qualifies us as boyfriend and girlfriend." She pulled him in and gave a sweet, lingering kiss. "Now, let's go party."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Review please! They are very much appreciated!<em>**

**_And a quick A/N about the last chapter: that was the way less extreme version of what I had originally typed. I may go back and post the extreme version later... but I'm not sure..._**


	25. Decisions, Decisions

**25. Decisions, Decisions**

Joe was not good at waiting, especially when he was waiting on something as big of a deal as this. He was sitting in a chair in Sydney's room waiting for her to return from the meeting. All the partiers had left a little bit ago. Thanks to Joe, the night had been filled with teasing comments. Joe kept apologizing to Sydney, but she just laughed it off and said it wasn't a big deal.

When Sydney had left, she still didn't seem to know what she wanted. Joe really wanted her to leave, but he knew she would make the best decision.

A few minutes later, Sydney walked in. Joe jumped up and ran to her. "Well?" He knew he should be more polite and wait for her to tell him, but he had to know.

Sydney sighed. "I- I'm staying."

Joe's heart broke. "Wh-what? Why?"

"I have to. I'm just not ready to leave yet. There's a lot of unfinished business here I need to take care of."

"Oh." Joe looked down. He should have guessed it. Her eyes still had that godly green ring in them.

"But," Sydney pulled his face back up, "I will be leaving, eventually."

Joe's face lit up. "Really? When?"

"In a year, maybe two."

"A year?"

"I know, but it's better than nothing."

"I don't think I can live without you for a year."

Sydney grinned. "You'll live. It won't be long before you see me again."

"I can't wait."

Sydney stared into Joe's eyes and smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to ruin this moment."

"What do-"

Sydney cut him off with a kiss. It took Joe less than half a second to get over his shock and melt into it. He could feel her arms around his neck and his around her waist. He slowly slid one of his hands up and grabbed the back of her head to pull her in closer. Nothing could ruin this moment.

"Hey, Sydney. Have you seen- oh!"

Sydney and Joe started and sprang apart, their cheeks tomato red. "Anna!"

Anna snickered. "Hello."

"What, um, what did you want?" Sydney asked, fixing her blonde hair.

Anna had a hard time not smiling. "I was looking for Joe, since I hadn't seem him in a few hours, but I see he's been busy."

"Oh, this?" Joe looked at Sydney. His cheeks were still red. "It- it's nothing."

"Yeah, because seeing you two with each other tongue's down each other throats looks like nothing." Anna smirked and put her hands on her hips. "So how long has this been going on? And just when were you planning on telling me?"

Joe rubbed the back of his head and looked at Sydney, unsure of what to say. "Um..."

Sydney grinned. Her face was slowly turning back to normal. She walked back over to Joe, wrapped her arms around his waist, and kissed him on the cheek. His cheeks only got redder. Sydney laughed. "It's only been about two weeks."

"And no one told me about this?"

Sydney laughed some more. "We're sorry. We'll be sure to tell you about any happenings in our relationship from now on."

Anna crossed her arms. "Good." She looked back and forth between the couple. "I knew this would happen. I'll leave you two love birds then." Anna quickly slipped out.

"Do we really have to tell her everything?" Joe asked, looking at Sydney.

Sydney smiled and shook her head. "Of course not."

"Good." Joe grinned. "I don't need my baby sister getting any ideas."

"Like what?"

"Well, like this." Joe leaned in to kiss her once more. He smiled and he felt her smiling as well. He slowly stopped and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you."

"I love you too." She leaned back into the kiss.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So I know the ending was kind of rushed but... oh well! One more chapter left! I'd love some reviews! And I think I will be going back to post the extreme version of chapter 24 because you guys seem to want it, not sure when though.<em>**


	26. Reunion

**26. Reunion**

_A Year and a Half Later..._

"Ok. I'll see you at Ray's in ten minutes?" Joe paused while he waited for Fred to respond. "Alright. Later." He closed his phone, slipped down the stairs and out the door.

A pretty, blonde girl sat on the steps, examining her nails, acting completely nonchalant.

Joe did a double take. She looked like her. The only difference he could see was in the eyes. Solid blue, no traces of green. "Sy-Sydney?"

"In the flesh." Sydney flashed a bright smile and bounced up to her feet.

Joe grinned and hugged her, never wanting to let go. "I've missed you so much! When did you get here?"

"A little bit ago. We had to get moved in."

"We?"

"I didn't exactly come here alone."

"What-"

"Hey Syd!" A familiar voice shouted.

Joe frowned. "Skyler? Why?"

Sydney shrugged. "He seems to have a thing for Anna."

"He better not," Joe said, going into protective brother mode.

Sydney laughed. "Relax. Skyler's a good guy. Anna's lucky."

"Why are you talking about me?"

Sydney and Joe turned to look at Skyler.

"Nothing, Sky. Just explaining that we'll be living together for a while."

"You're what?" Joe asked.

"Skyler still has two years of high school left, he's only sixteen. He can't even drive yet. Plus, I don't trust him to live by himself."

"Hey!"

"Do you even trust yourself?"

"No."

Sydney smirked. "That's what I thought." She turned back to Joe. "So? I think we need to catch up."

Joe grinned. "Just let me go get something real quick. I'll take you out for pizza." He turned and went back inside.

Sydney dropped her shoulders and sighed. "That was harder than I thought it was going to be."

Skyler frowned. "You ever going to tell him?"

"I want to, but what if-"

"Sydney, he has a right to know."

"I know, but-"

"He's going to find out eventually."

Sydney sighed. She absentmindedly twirled a heart-shaped locket with a diamond encrusted S on the front between her fingers. "I know."

"I think it's only fair that you tell your boyfriend about the boy you love more than him."

"I'll tell him, just not yet. Don't mention anything to him, please?"

"You know I won't, but when someone that important shows up in your life, you can't hide from it."

"What are you two talking about?" Joe came up from behind and wrapped an arm around Sydney's shoulders.

She smiled at him, all traces of her and Skyler's conversation gone. "Nothing. Just telling Sky some basic New Yorker stuff. I don't want him going all tourist on me."

"And that means I'm not allowed to see any of the sights?" Skyler added, going right along with Sydney's lie.

"Yup." She smiled at him, then looked back to Joe. "Ready?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah." He leaned in to kiss her. "I got you something, for when you came back. I've been keeping it for over a year." He held up a necklace with an egg-shaped blue sapphire pendant that was wrapped in silver with diamonds on the tip.

Sydney gasped and took the necklace from him. "It's beautiful."

Joe grinned. "Glad you like it." He was about to put it on for her, but stopped when he saw that she was already wearing a necklace. "Where did you get that?"

Sydney looked down at the silver locket. "It was a gift. A... good friend gave it to me." She reluctantly took it off and put Joe's on instead.

Joe flashed a smile. "It's good to have you back. I've missed you."

Sydney smiled. "I've missed you too."

They leaned into another kiss. "Um, guys? You're not alone here. Can you have your little reunion celebration later?" Skyler interrupted.

Sydney eyed Skyler out of the corner of her eye and laughed. "Sure."

Joe put his hand on the small of Sydney's back, causing her to jump. He gave her an odd look. "Sorry. I've taken a lot of hits there. It's sorta sensitive." Skyler gave Sydney a look, which she ignored.

"Oh, sorry." Joe wrapped an arm around Sydney's shoulders instead.

"Can we get some food now? I'm starving," Skyler said.

Sydney laughed again. "Sure. Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong><em>And that's it for this story! Yeah, I know I left you with a little cliffhanger. But that just leaves you to speculate about who this boy is. I'll probably be working on 'Return of the Living' next and some extra in-between chapters in The Untold Stories: Extras. Until then, check my profile for updates! So, w<em>****_hat did you think of this? Which is your favorite 'War of Time'? The original, or the remake? Let me know!_**

**_And one more thing! I'm thinking about posting a short Q&A on my profile, so feel free to PM me some questions about anything! or just leave some in your reviews! Even if you've asked me the question before, chances are, my answer has changed. So, ask away!_**


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